Katya Kane and the Battle of the Labyrinth
by Just a Boring Girl
Summary: Katya Kane has a lot of problems, Kronos' army is rising, Apophis, the Lord of Chaos is also coming to power. Of course, this summer, like every summer, Katya has to go on another dangerous quest with her friends; Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. While trying to hide the Egyptian part of her life from those she loves. Book 2 of the Katya Kane Series.
1. Chapter I

_** Chapter I**_

** Go to cgi/set?id=145066746 for the outfit that Katya wears. **

**Katya**

I woke up in my room at Brooklyn House. It had plain white walls, dark wood floor, a fuzzy white rug, and furniture. Yep, furniture, the weirdest thing to have in a bedroom.

Today was my freshman orientation, I had graduated from The Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted last year. I had transferred into it mid-semester, because of some inconveniences involving the almost-end-of-the-world. Or the Red Pyramid incident as I like to call it.

If you've read the story before this one you'd know all about it. And that Brooklyn House is now a school for young magicians wanting to follow the path of the gods. I don't follow the path of the gods, I have my own kind of magic, ice. It's kind of cool because no one else in the world has it, except my mother; Khione. But at the same time it's very powerful and dangerous.

All of the initiates at Brooklyn House go to Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted, including Carter. At first he didn't want to go to a regular school—he's been homeschooled his whole life—but I may have threatened him with death if he didn't go with me.

So, Carter and I are going to Goode High School today. Since graduating from Brooklyn Academy a lot of schools wanted us to join because of our abilities. To get into Brooklyn Academy you had to be especially gifted in something, for me it was ice sculpting, Carter was an expert on Egyptology. It also helped to be related to Julius Kane, the king of all Egyptology nerds. No offense to Carter.

The thing is, Goode High is in Manhattan, so we have to wake up super early to get there. I slipped my bare feet onto the oak floor. I walked over to my closet, grabbed the white muscle tee, mom jeans, gray hoodie, and my signature black high tops. I quickly slipped them all on, and grabbed my old banjo bag.

I ran out of my room, because of course I was running late. Why would they make freshmen orientation in June? Do they expect us to remember everything they said tomorrow, let alone two months from now?

I grabbed an apple from the kitchen, dodged Shelby's stray crayons to get to the terrace.

"Carter!" I yelled. "We're going to be late! Get your a—"

"I'm coming!" He yelled from the library. I'm glad he cut me off, because I realized I would've said something I would not want some of the younger initiates to hear.

Suddenly, there was a body pummeling into me. I held the small child away from my body in order to see his face.

"Hey, Felix," I greeted the little guy.

"Good luck at your orientation, Kat!" He said smiling up at me.

"Thank you, Felix," I smiled. I loved Felix, it was hard not to smile whenever he or his penguins were around. Carter came running out onto the terrace while pulling on a cardigan over his button-up collared shirt.

I smirked. "About time." I teased.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"Alright, see you Brother Bear," I ruffled Felix's hair and used the name I gave him. It was from a movie I used to watch when I was little; Brother Bear. It was my favorite, I would watch it over and over again in the living room of my dad's house.

Carter and I left for the subway, I ate my apple on the way. We walked from the subway to the school, I'm sure there was a much faster way to do this, but for now we were stuck with walking and subways.

Carter and I talked about the next Magic Problem-Solving 101 class we'd be teaching.

I was thinking giant scorpion, Carter not so much.

We walked into the school yard. We stopped before on the sidewalk. "I'm going in, you coming?" He asked back to the parking lot.

"No, I have to mentally prepare myself first," he chuckled then pecked my cheek, a habit he'd picked up on our little road trip across America. I fiddled with the _ankh _ring on my finger a moment before taking a deep breath and walking up the front stairs.

I tried to walk past the teacher without him noticing me, but the salt and pepper haired man in the leather jacket stuck his hand out with a friendly smile and said, "Hi, I'm Paul Blofis, but you can call me Mr. Blofis."

I forced a smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Blofis. I'm Katya Kane."

"Your cousin just passed through here. Is he the ice sculptor or the Egyptologist?"

"The Egyptologist, I'm the ice sculptor."

"And you're Julius Kane's—"

"Niece. Carter is his son."

"Talented family you are—"Someone behind me must've caught his eye, because he pulled a guy next to him.

"Percy, this is Katya Kane. She's one of our most accomplished students. Katya this is Percy Jackson."

"Katya," Percy breathed out. Then a boyish smile spread across his face.

"Hi, Percy," I smiled.

"You two know each other?" Mr. Blofis asked.

"Yeah, we go to summer camp together," Percy said in a daze. Then asked questions in rapid fire. "What are you doing here? And who was that guy kissing you cheek on the lawn? Don't you live in Brooklyn, why are you in Manhattan?"

I laughed. Paul looked totally lost. "I'm going to freshmen orientation. That was my cousin, and good friend. I do live in Brooklyn, I go to school in Manhattan. So, how do you know Percy, Mr. Blofis?" I asked quickly changing the subject and leaving Percy behind.

"His mom is my girlfriend," Paul said, recovering from Percy and I's… thing.

"Oh, so you're that Paul Blofis, I thought it was just a coincidence."

"We'd better go," Percy said. "Don't want to be late."

"You're right," Mr. Blofis checked his wristwatch. "Yep, just follow those signs."

We set out down the hallway. Percy nervously looked back. I looked back at Mr. Blofis talking to a girl with curly red hair, and tattered jeans covered in marker doodles.

I walked faster, we couldn't let her see us. "Most accomplished student?" Percy smirked down at me.

"Yeah, that's…" Percy chuckled.

"How'd you get into Brooklyn Academy?" He asked me as we walked to orientation.

"You have to be talented at something or other. I was—"

"Great at sword fighting, archery, gymnastics and leaping through the air?" He suggested.

"Would you stop interrupting me? And it was ice sculpting," I laughed, Percy smiled obviously pleased that he had annoyed me.

"I missed you," Percy said.

"I missed you, too," I looked up at him as he opened the gym doors. We walked in and attempted to sit down, but two cheerleaders blocked our way.

"Hi!" They smiled. One was blonde with cerulean blue eyes. The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa's (and believe me, I know what I am talking about.) Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms, but with my dyslexia I couldn't decipher them. The only thing I can read is hieroglyphs, and Ancient Greek, really handy in modern-day America.

"Welcome to Goode," the blonde one said. I didn't even bother faking a smile like I did with Mr. Blofis. "You are _so _going to love it."

But as she looked us up and down, her expression said something more like, _Eww, who are these losers? _

She stood so close it was like she was trying to push us down the steps. "What's your name, fishes?"

"Fish?" Percy asked.

"Freshmen."

"If you are going to call us names, you might as well do it right," I said. "Fish is singular and plural?"

"I'm Percy."

"Katya," I honestly didn't care.

The girls exchanged looks.

"Oh, Percy Jackson," the blonde one said. "We've been waiting for you."

A chill went down my back. They were blocking the exit, smiling in a not-friendly-way. I my hand immediately crept to the snowflake necklace that turned into my sword

Then another voice came from inside the building. "Percy? Katya?" It was Mr. Blofis, somewhere down the hallway.

The cheerleaders backed off. Percy was so anxious to get past them he accidentally kneed one of them in the thigh.

_Clang. _

Her leg sounded like it was made of metal, but her leg looked completely normal. This was just another thing that made me suspicious of the "cheerleaders".

"Ow," she muttered. "Watch it, _fish_."

We dashed into the hall, the cheerleaders laughing behind me.

"There you are!" Paul told us. "Welcome to Goode!"

"Hey, Paul—uh, Mr. Blofis." I glanced back, but the cheerleaders had disappeared.

"Percy you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, uh—"

Paul clapped him on the back. "Listen, I know you're nervous, but don't worry. We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. The teachers know how to help."

If only ADHD and dyslexia were our biggest worries. Those cheerleaders, I had a bad feeling about them.

Then I looked out down the hall, and I remembered our other little problem. The redheaded girl I'd seen talking to Mr. Blofis was just coming in the entrance.

_Don't notice us, _I prayed.

She noticed us, of course. Her eyes widened.

"We have to go," I told Paul and dragged Percy to the gym.

"Percy?" We were already running.

I thought we'd lost her.

A bunch of kids were heading to the gym, so me and Percy mixed in with them. Unfortunately we got separated. So now I sat across the gym from Percy, my eyes scanned the room for Carter. I found him sitting a few rows behind me.

_Who is that guy, _he mouthed.

_A friend, _I mouthed back, then turned to the front.

A marching band played a tune that was out of key. Upper classmen showcased the school uniform like a fashion show. For the girls; you had navy printed skirts, white blouses, navy bow ties, gray tights, and burgundy sweater vests. They weren't hideous, in fact they could look nice if you squinted. For the boys; you had navy pants, white oxford shirts, navy neck ties, and burgundy sweater vests. Sometimes the girl or boy could be seen with a navy blazer on.

I saw Percy run out of the room with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I stood up and followed quickly after them, but it took me a while to get to him, seeing as I had to go around the gym.

I was pushed outside with the crowd. The fire alarms had gone off, I found an isolated spot where Percy would probably come if he was running from the band room.

I looked away from the doors for a split second when Percy ran into me. We ended up laying on the grass, he was on top of me, his eyes widened but he didn't stand.

"Hey, guys, what _are _you doing?" Rachel asked coming out of the school, she was covered in monster dust.

Percy quickly scrambled off of me and stood up, he helped me to my feet. "Uh, nothing, just fell."

"Percy, we have to get out of here," I said. He nodded.

"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She took out a sharpie and wrote a phone number on his hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? Now get going."

"But—"Percy started.

"I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

She ran back toward the school, leaving me and Katya in the street.

"Call Blackjack, I don't have another way to get us to camp."

"Do we have to go to camp now? Why can't we just wait?" Percy complained.

"He'll be fine, I'll call him on the way. You can call your mom, too. Right now, we have to get to Camp Half-Blood."

**So, here is the first chapter of book one. I hope you like it! So, if you do, please review! And if not, review anyway, I love all of your feedback (no mean words please, they hurt my heart.)**


	2. Chapter II

_**Chapter II**_

**Katya**

Percy called Blackjack and he came soaring down to the alleyway were we waited. I hadn't called Carter yet, but I couldn't use it while I wasn't going anywhere, we'd be dead meat for the monsters. I hoped he wasn't that worried.

_Yo, Boss, _Blackjack spoke. I was surprised my spell hadn't worn off when I heard Blackjack's voice in my head. _She-Boss! You're not dead!_

"What do you mean, she's not dead?" Percy asked. "I told you to help if she was in danger, and bring her to me."

_I brought her to Arizona._

"I had some business to attend to, and my rib was healing on the way," I tried to amend the loose talking Blackjack's words.

"You hurt your rib?" He asked.

_Yeah, Boss. She jumped out of that monument in D.C. She fought the monster thing on the way down. Landed in a bunch of snow. Then, BAM! She killed it. Then I saved her. I thought she would die when she jumped on the boat with the giant lion-headed lady—_

"Blackjack!" I cut him off. Percy gave me a look that obviously said, _What in Hades is he talking about? And you'd better tell me, or you're in trouble._

Well I'd be in more trouble if I told him so I said, "We'll talk later," as I mounted Blackjack.

"Nu-uh, I ride in front, he's my Pegasus." I rolled my eyes but let him in front. I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist right after Blackjack took off, almost throwing me off.

It was a long time until we reached camp. Percy and I hadn't said a word to each other and just listened to the blabbering of Blackjack.

Percy called his mom, and I called Carter.

"There was a fire and you left!" Carter yelled through the phone.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Still at the school, I told the fire department you were still in there you are—"

"Calm down. Listen, my friend and I are going out of town for a while, he's from that summer camp I'm going to. We won't be back until the start of school."

"What! Who are you with?" Carter asked loudly. I held the phone further away from my ear.

"With my friend."

"What's his name?" He asked.

"Percy," I said. "Look, I've got to go, remember to have the initiates fight giant scorpions in Whatever Works."

"No way, and its Magic Problem Solving 101 not Whatever Works, you should know that, you were the one who thought of that," Carter shot back.

"I thought up the class, you were the one who came up with the name, I thought it should be called How to Get Out of Dying."

"Yeah, yeah," Carter mumbled. "But I'm not doing giant scorpions, even the little ones freak me out. But how am I supposed to teach the class without you there? I'm going to have to plan everything by myself. And Felix is going to miss you." That last sentence hit home, even more than the others. I had always wanted a younger brother or sister, and now I had one in everything but blood and I was ditching him for three months.

"Tell them that I love them, I've got to go."

Katya was about to hang up when Carter asked through the phone, "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?"

"I might not make it back, I love you, tell the others I love them too. Goodbye," Katya hung up the phone. She fought not to let the tears fall.

"Hey, we'll be okay, I don't think Kronos is going to rise this summer," Percy reassured her.

"Yeah," she said glumly, "but you never know."

After that, we rode silently. Even Blackjack wouldn't speak. But then we landed at the top of Half-Blood Hill we jumped off Blackjack and started walking down the hill.

"I should go find Annabeth, she'll be with Clarisse," I said.

He looked at me like I had just told him to go drink the Nile. (Which, speaking from experience is not a clean river.) "Why is she with Clarisse?"

"They've been working on something," I said. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Working on what?" He asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "I've been here the same amount of time you have, go clean your cabin or something, I'll see you at dinner."

**Percy**

I thought about the first time I met Katya as I walked to Cabin 3.

_Katya walked along the interstate, to her right was a forest, on her left a field. She kept walking in her worn out high tops. She readjusted the knapsack on her back, the same one she took everywhere._

_ Percy watched from the window of Smelly Gabe's car, he wondered what the girl was doing on the interstate at night, heck, he was wondering what _he _was doing on the interstate at night._

_ "Why is that girl out?" He asked his mom._

_ Grover sniffed the air. "It's a demigod, we have to pick her up._

_ So, what eventually ended up happening was: Grover pulled the girl into the car, she screamed and fought, until Grover hit her over the head._

_ Percy remembered her beating him up once he gained consciousness after fighting the Minotaur. She told him later that she was only out for a couple of hours, they had become friends after she beat him up. And after they went on a quest to save the world, turns out they would go on a lot of those._

As I made my way through camp, I said hi to some of my friends. In the Big House's driveway, Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes cabin were hot-wiring the Cano's SUV. Silena Beauregard, the head counselor for Aphrodite, waved at me from her pegasus as she flew past. I looked for Grover, but I didn't see him. Finally I wandered into the sword arena, where I usually go when I'm in a bad mood. Practicing always calms me down. Maybe that's because swordplay is one thing I understand. Not like Katya, she was my best friend, and I could easily tell what she was feeling, until she put her guard up, and blocked out the world. When I asked about her past, and her family, she would dodge the question and run. Even after I opened up to her about Smelly Gabe, how bad could her past be?

I walked into the amphitheater and my heart almost stopped. In the middle of the arena floor, with its back to me, was the biggest hellhound I'd ever seen.

I mean, I've seen some pretty big hellhounds. One the size of a rhino tried to kill me when I was twelve. But _this _hellhound was bigger than a truck. I had no idea how it had gotten past the camp's magic boundaries. It looked right at home, lying on its belly, growling as it chewed the head off a combat dummy. It hadn't noticed me yet, but if I made a sound, I knew it would sense me. There was no time to go for help. I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it.

"Yaaaaah!" I charged. I brought down the blade on the monster's enormous backside when out of nowhere another sword blocked my strike.

_CLANG!_

The hellhound pricked up its ears. _"WOOF!"_

I jumped back and instinctively struck at the swordsman—a gray-haired man in Greek armor. He parried my attack with no problem.

"Whoa there!" He said. "Truce!"

_"WOOF!" _The hellhound's bark shook the arena.

"That's a hellhound!" I shouted.

"She's harmless," the man said. "That's Mrs. O'Leary."

I blinked. "Mrs. O'Leary?"

At the sound of her name, the hellhound barked again. I realized she wasn't angry. She was excited. She nudged the soggy, badly chewed dummy toward the swordsman.

"Good girl," the man said. With his free hand he grabbed the armored manikin by the neck and heaved it toward the bleachers. "Get the Greek! Get the Greek!"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded after her prey and pounced on the dummy, flattening its armor. She began chewing on its helmet.

The swordsman smiled dryly. He was in his fifties, I guess, with short gray hair and a clipped gray beard. He was in good shape for an older guy. He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp T-shirt. At the base of his neck was a strange mark, a purplish blotch like a birthmark or a tattoo, but before I could make out what it was, he shifted his armor straps and the mark disappeared under his collar.

"Mrs. O'Leary is my pet," he explained. "I couldn't let you stick a sword in her rump, now, could I? That might have scared her."

"Who are you?"

"Promise not to kill me if I put my sword away?"

"I guess."

He sheathed his sword and held out his hand. "Quintus."

I shook his hand. It was as rough as sandpaper.

"Percy Jackson," I said. "Sorry about—how did you, um—"

"Get a hellhound for a pet? Long story, involving many close calls with death and quite a few giant chew toys. I'm the new sword instructor, by the way. Helping out Chiron while Mr. D is away."

"Oh." I tried not to stare as Mrs. O'Leary ripped of the target dummy's shield with the arm still attached and shook it like a Frisbee. "Wait, Mr. D is away?"

"Yes, well… busy times. Even Dionysus must help out. He's gone to visit some old friends. Make sure they're on the right side. I probably shouldn't say more than that."

If Dionysus was gone, that was the best news I'd had all day. He was only our camp director because Zeus had sent him here as a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph. He hated the campers and tried to make our lives miserable. With him away, this summer might actually be cool. On the other hand, if Dionysus had gotten off his butt and actually started helping the gods recruit against the Titan threat, things must be looking pretty bad.

Off to my left, there was a loud _BUMP. _Six wooden crates the size of picnic tables were stacked nearby, and they were rattling. Mrs. O'Leary cocked her head and bounded toward them.

"Whoa, girl!" Quintus said. "Those aren't for you." He distracted her from the bronze shield Frisbee.

The crates thumped and shook. There were words printed on the sides, but with my dyslexia they took me a few minutes to decipher: 

**TRIPLE G RANCH**

**FRAGILE**

**THIS END UP**

Along the bottom, in smaller letters: OPEN WITH CARE. TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMEGE, MAIMING, OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS.

"What's in the boxes?" I asked.

"A little surprise," Quintus said. "Training activity for tomorrow night. You'll love it."

"Uh, okay," I said, though I wasn't sure about the "excruciatingly painful death" part.

Quintus threw the bronze shield, and Mrs. O'Leary lumbered after it. "You young ones need more challenges. They didn't have camps like this when I was a boy."

"You—you're a half-blood?" I didn't mean to sound so surprised, but I'd never seen an old demigod before.

Quintus chuckled. "Some of us _do _survive into adulthood, you know. Not all of us are subject of terrible prophesies."

"You know about my prophesy?"  
>"I've heard a few things."<p>

I wanted to ask _what _few things, but just then Chiron clip-clopped into the arena with Katya at his side. "Percy, there you are!"  
>He must've just come from teaching archery. He had a quiver and bow slung over his #1 CENTAUR T-shirt. He'd trimmed his curly brown hair and beard for the summer, and his lower half, which was a white stallion, was flecked with mud and grass.<p>

Katya looked the same as she did a few minutes ago, minus the smile, but had drawn her sword, Páli. Páli meant 'struggle' in Greek, the sword was the only gift from her mother.

**Katya**

"I see you've met your new instructor." Chiron's tone was light, but there was an uneasiness in the back of his eyes. "Quintus, do you mind if we borrow Percy?"

"Not at all, Master Chiron."

"No need to call me 'Master'," Chiron said, though he was obviously pleased. "Come, Percy. We have much to discuss."

Percy took one last glance at Mrs. O'Leary, as I've learned is her name, who was now chewing off the target dummy's legs.

"Well, see you," he told Quintus.

As we were walking away he whispered to Chiron, "Quintus seems kind of—"

"Mysterious?" Chiron suggested. "Hard to read?"  
>"Yeah."<p>

Chiron nodded. "A very qualified half-blood. Excellent swordsman, I just wish I understood…"

He didn't finish his sentence. "First things first, Percy. Katya told me you met some _empousai_."

"Yeah," Percy told him about the fight at Goode, and how Kelli exploded into flames.

"Mm," Chiron said. "The more powerful ones can do that. She did not die, Percy. She simply escaped. It is not good that the she-demons are stirring."

"What were they doing there?" Percy asked. "Waiting for us?"

"Possibly." Chiron frowned. "It is amazing you survived. Their powers of deception… almost any male hero would've fallen under her spell and been devoured."

"I would have been," Percy admitted. "Except for Rachel."

Chiron nodded. "Ironic to be saved by a mortal, yet we owe her a debt. What the _empousa _said about an attack on camp—it is also odd, that Katya being the daughter of a minor goddess, still attracts more monsters than that of the Twelve Olympians."

"I don't know anything about that, I just kill 'em."

"Perhaps, it has to do with the power of the half-blood. Not the rank of the goddess. We must speak of this further. But for now, come, we should get to the woods. Grover will want you there."

"Where?"

"At his formal hearing," Chiron said grimly. "The Council of Cloven Elders is meeting now to decide his fate."

Chiron said we needed to hurry, so we let him give us a ride on his back. I wrapped my arms around Percy's torso, much like I did on our way over here. I didn't like depending on him to keep me upright, it's not that I don't trust Percy, I just don't like depending on others, even if it is just a little thing.

Chiron plunged into the woods. Nymphs peeked out of the trees to watch us pass. Large shapes rustled in the shadow—monsters that were stocked in here as a challenge to the campers.

I thought I knew the forest after wandering and playing capture the flag in it for two summers, but Chiron took me a way I didn't recognize, through a tunnel of old willow trees, past a little waterfall, and into a glade blanketed with wildflowers.

A bunch of satyrs were sitting in a circle in the grass. Grover stood in the middle, facing three old satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes. I wondered how they weren't getting pricked in the butt by thorns.

Grover seems to be telling them a story. He twisted the bottom of his T-shirt, shifting nervously under the Council of Cloven Elder's gaze. He hadn't changed much, his acne had flared up, and his horns had gotten bigger so they stuck up over his curly hair. I realized that he was shorter than Percy, now. I was still five foot.

Standing off to the side were Annabeth, a girl I'd never seen before, and Clarisse. Chiron dropped Percy next to them and I jumped down after him.

Clarisse's stringy brown hair was pulled back with a camouflage bandanna. She glared at us and muttered something under her breath.

Annabeth had her arm around the other girl, who looked like she'd been crying. She was small—the same size as me—with wispy hair the color of amber and a pretty elfish face. She wore a green chiton and laced sandals, and she was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "It's going terribly," she sniffled.

"No, no," Annabeth patted her shoulder. "He'll be fine, Juniper."

Annabeth looked at us and mouthed the words _Grover's girlfriend. _

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Juniper more closely, and I realized her ears were slightly pointed. Her eyes, instead of being red from crying, were tinged green. She was a dryad.

"Master Underwood!" The council member on the right shouted, cutting off whatever Grover was trying to say. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"

"B-but, Silenus," Grover stammered. "It's the truth!"

Silenus, turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front and stood next to them. I remembered he was an honorary member of the council. The elders didn't look very impressive. I wasn't sure why Grover looked nervous, they looked like they just came from the petting zoo.

Silenus tugged his yellow polo shirt over his belly and adjusted himself on his rosebush throne. "Master Underwood, for six months—_six months_—we have been hearing scandalous claims that you heard the wild god Pan speak."

"But I did!"

"Impudence!" Shouted the elder on the left.

"Now, Maron," Chiron said. "Patience."

"Patience, indeed!" Maron said. "I've had it up to my horns with this nonsense. As if the wild god would speak to…to _him_."

Juniper looked like she wanted to charge the old satyr and beat him up, but Annabeth and Clarisse held her back. "Wrong fight, girlie," Clarisse muttered. "Wait."

I don't know what was more surprising: Clarisse holding someone back from a fight, or Annabeth and her working together.

"For six months," Silenus continued, "we have indulged you, Master Underwood. We let you travel. We allowed you to keep your searcher's license. We waited for you to bring proof of your preposterous claim. And what have you found in six months of travel?"

"I just need more time," Grover pleaded.

"Nothing!" The elder in the middle chimed in. "You have found nothing."

"But, Leneus—"

Silenus raised his hand. Chiron leaned in and said something to the satyrs. They didn't look happy. They muttered and argued amongst themselves, but Chiron said something else, and Silenus sighed. He nodded reluctantly.

"Master Underwood," Silenus announced, "we will give you one more chance."

Grover brightened. "Thank you!"

"One more week."

"What? But, sir! That's impossible!"

"One more week, Master Underwood. And then, if you cannot prove your claims, it will be time for you to pursue another career. Something to suit your dramatic talents. Puppet theater, perhaps. Or tap dancing."

"But, sir, I—I can't lose my searcher's license. My whole life—"

"This meeting of the council is adjourned," Silenus said. "And now let us enjoy our noonday meal!"

He clapped his hands and nymphs brought out platters of fruit, vegetable, tin cans, and other goat delicacies. I wanted to go up there and use Páli to saw off those fat horns of his. Grover walked dejectedly to us. His faded blue T-shirt had a picture of a satyr on it. It read GOT HOOVES?

"Hey, Percy. Hi, Katya," he said, so depressed he didn't even offer to shake our hands. "That went well, huh?"

"Those old goats!" Juniper said. "Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!"

"There is another option," Clarisse said darkly.

"No. No." Juniper shook her head. "Grover, I won't let you."

His face was ashen. "I—I'll have to think about it. But we don't even know where to look."

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

In the distance, a conch horn sounded.

Annabeth pursed her lips. "I'll fill you in later, guys. We'd better get back to or cabins. Inspection is starting."

My eyes widened, my cabin was a mess, and there was no way I would be able to get it clean in time.

"I've got to go! It isn't clean yet." I yelled as I sprinted back to my cabin.

Khione didn't have a cabin until I came, when I was claimed on Mt. Olympus they were going to keep me in the Hermes cabin, where all the children of minor gods stay.

Before Mr. D could say no, I had made a cabin made of ice. Even though I was on probation for the rest of the summer, it was totally worth it.

I ran in and started cleaning. I was done and laying on my bed panting when Silena came in.

"Wow," she breathed. "I've never been inside your cabin before. It's wonderful." She put a couple of marks on her scroll and headed out.

I let out a sigh and curled up under the thick, fuzzy white blanket and fell asleep. When I woke up, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson hovered over me.

"_Di imortales!" _Icursed.

"We're going to the canoe lake, come on." Annabeth pulled me out of bed. "I haven't seen my best friend in nine months, and you're sleeping!"

They raced out of my cabin, dragging me with them. We ran down to the canoe lake.

Percy and Tyson lifted a canoe into the lake and we all got in. Percy, of course, oared. We sat in silence until we got to the middle of the lake.

"So, I heard you graduated from Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted. I heard you have to be really gifted to even get in, and at least one-third of the students in each year drop out because they can't do it. How'd you get in?" Annabeth rambled, but I was used to her excitement of academics.

"I got in with my two cousins, Carter and Sadie, Carter is an Egyptologist, and Sadie is a natural at drama."

"Yeah, but how did you get in?"

"Ice sculpting," I answered and Annabeth laughed.

"What do Carter and Sadie look like?" Annabeth asked. I pulled out a picture of the three of us, plus Khufu on the terrace of Brooklyn House.

"Aaw, you guys look cute. Wait, is that a baboon in a Lakers jersey?" She looked up at me.

"That's Khufu, he's our pet baboon, and he loves basketball, particularly the Lakers."

"You have a pet baboon?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, and an albino crocodile that lives in our pool."

"You're kidding!" Annabeth said.

"No, his name is Phillip. Phillip of Macedonia."

We all laughed.

"What's this 'other way'?" I asked Annabeth, darkening the happy mood. "The thing Clarisse mentioned?"

"Something Clarisse scouted out. I helped her a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."

"Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured.

I stared at him. Tyson had face down fire-breathing bulls and sea monsters and cannibal giants. "Why would you be scared of Grover?"

"Hooves and horns," Tyson muttered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itchy."

And that pretty much ended our Grover conversation.

I went back to my cabin until dinner, and slept some more, I was really tired, this whole day was exhausting.

Luckily, I didn't have any dreams. I doubt I would be that lucky tomorrow.


	3. Chapter III

_**Chapter III**_

**Katya**

The next morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast.

Around three in the morning an Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. I was so exhausted I slept right through it. The magical boundaries kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots in our defenses, and it didn't seem keen to go away until Lee Fletcher from Apollo's cabin led a couple of siblings in pursuit. After a dozen arrows in the chinks of its armor, the drakon got the message and left.

"It's still out there," Lee warned us during announcements. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. Its eyes—"

"You did well, Lee." Chiron patted him on the shoulder. "Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This has happened before."

"Aye," said Quintus from the head table. "And it will happen again. More and more frequently."

The campers murmured amongst themselves. I couldn't murmur to anyone, I was alone at Khione's table.

Everyone knew the rumors: Luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. Most of us expected it this summer, but no one knew how or when. We only had eighty campers, three years ago we had over one-hundred. Some had joined Luke, some had died, and some had joined Luke.

Being a demigod meant you were constantly surrounded by the haunting thought that this fight, this monster, this adventure could be your last. I enjoyed a good fight, the occasional hellhound, or Serpopard. Nothing beat a good fight to the death. But being constantly covered in the shadow of death, was like knowing something was going to happen. Quite like the invasion of camp.

"This is a good reason for new war games," Quintus continued, a glint I could recognize quite well in his eyes; excitement before a fight. "We'll see how you all do with that tonight."

"Yes…" Chiron said. "Well, enough announcements. Let us bless this meal and eat." He raised his goblet. "To the gods!"

We all raised our glasses and repeated the blessing.

I took my plate up to the bronze brazier and scraped a portion of our food into the flames. I hoped the gods liked Cocoa Puffs in chocolate milk.

I never prayed to my mom, she wasn't someone I liked too much. I used to pray to her. She wasn't much help. I haven't even heard her voice, seen her face, and she's never given me anything useful, you know, except the ice powers.

I sat down and glanced around the Dining Pavilion. I noticed Percy staring at me. I looked down at my Cocos Puffs with a blush. He was my best friend, I shouldn't be blushing at him catching my eye.

I looked at Annabeth, she looked at me for a moment, then stood up. I looked at her with a questioning look.

She walked right past me and grabbed Percy and Grover, then dragged them over to my table.

"What are you doing, we aren't supposed to be here," Percy hissed.

"We need to talk," Annabeth rolled her eyes. It was really hard to listen to a word she said, since the entire camp was staring at us.

"What's this about Annabeth?" I asked.

"The Labyrinth."

It was really hard to listen to a word she said, since the entire camp was staring at us. And Percy was right next to me, I mean right next to me. I glanced at him, and he seemed to get the message and scoot further away.

Mr. D probably would've strangled Annabeth with his magic grapevines. But he wasn't here. Chiron had left and Quintus; the new sword instructor, looked at us with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Look, Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating," Annabeth said.

"You mean the maze where they kept the Minotaur, back in the old days?"

"Exactly," Annabeth said.

"So… it's not under the king's palace in Crete anymore," Percy guessed. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America."

"Under a building? Please, Percy. The Labyrinth is _huge_. It wouldn't fit—"

"It's under the entire U.S isn't it?" I asked. Annabeth only nodded. Just our luck.

"You can get anywhere through the Labyrinth."

"If you don't get lost," Grover muttered. "And die a horrible death."

"Grover, there has to be a way," Annabeth said. I got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "Clarisse lived."

"Barely! And the other guy—"

"He was driven insane. He didn't die."

"Oh, joy." Grover's lip quivered. "That makes me feel much better."

"Whoa," Percy said. "Back up. What's this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?"

Annabeth glanced towards the Ares table. Clarisse was watching us like she knew what we were talking about, but then her eyes fixed on her breakfast plate.

"Last year," Annabeth said, lowering her voice, "Clarisse went on a mission for Chiron."

"I remember," I said. "It was secret."

Annabeth nodded. Despite how serious she'd been acting, I was glad to be back with her. I had missed my best friend.

"It was a secret," Annabeth agreed, "because she found Chris Rodriguez."

"The guy from the Hermes cabin?" Percy asked. I remembered him from two years ago. We'd eavesdropped on him aboard Luke's ship, the _Princess Andromeda. _Chris was one of the half-bloods who'd abandoned camp and joined the Titan army.

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "Last summer he just appeared in Phoenix, Arizona, near Clarisse's mom's house."

"What do you mean by, he just appeared?" I asked.

"He was wandering around the desert, in a hundred and twenty degrees, in full Greek armor, babbling about string."

"Ariadne's string," I said.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"Ariadne's string. If we are dealing with the Labyrinth, then string you're probably dealing with Ariadne's string."

"Chris had been driven completely insane. Clarisse brought him back to her mom's house so the mortals wouldn't institutionalize him. She tried to nurse him back to health. Chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn't much good. The only thing they got out of him: Luke's men have been exploring the Labyrinth."

I shivered, though I wasn't sure why. Poor Chris… he hadn't been that bad of a guy, he had given me a tour of the camp when I first came to camp. What could've driven him mad? I looked at Grover, who was chewing the end of his fork.

"Okay," Percy said. "Why are they exploring the Labyrinth?"

"We weren't sure," Annabeth said. "That's why Clarisse went on a scouting expedition. Chiron kept things hushed up because he didn't want anyone panicking. He got me involved because… well, the Labyrinth has always been one of my favorite subjects. The architecture involved—"Her expression turned a little dreamy. "The builder, Daedalus, was a genius. But the point is, the Labyrinth has entrances everywhere. If Luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army around with incredible speed."

"Except it's a maze, right?" Percy questioned.

"Full of horrible traps," Grover agreed. "Dead ends. Illusions. Psychotic goat-killing monsters."

"But not if you had Ariadne's string," Annabeth said.

"In the old days, Ariadne's string guided Theseus out of the maze. It was a navigation instrument of some kind, invented by Daedalus. And Chris Rodriguez was mumbling about string."

"So Luke is trying to find Ariadne's string," Percy said. "Why? What's he planning?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't know. I thought maybe he wanted to invade camp through the maze, but that doesn't make any sense. The closest entrances Clarisse found were in Manhattan, which wouldn't help Luke get past our borders. Clarisse explored a little way into the tunnels, but… it was very dangerous. She had some close calls. I researched everything I could find about Daedalus. I'm afraid I didn't help much. I don't understand exactly what Luke's planning, but I do know this: the Labyrinth might be the key to Grover's problem."

I blinked. "You think Pan is underground?" Percy and I asked together.

"It would explain why he's been impossible to find."

Grover shuddered. "Satyrs hate going underground. No searcher would ever try going in _that _place. No flowers. No sunshine. No coffee shops!"

"But," Annabeth said, "the Labyrinth can lead you almost anywhere. It reads your thoughts. It was designed to fool you, to trick you and kill you; but if you can make the Labyrinth work _for _you—"

"It could lead you to the wild go," I said.

"I can't do it." Grover hugged his stomach. "Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up my silverware."

"Stop that!" I exclaimed.

"Stop what?" He asked.

"Stop. This is your life dream, and you're about to lose the chance of it. I don't care if satyrs like going underground or not. You have to do this. I won't let you not. The council is serious. _One _week or you learn to tap dance."

Over at the head table. Quintus cleared his throat. I got the feeling he didn't want to make a scene, but they were really pushing it, sitting at my table so long.

"We'll talk later," Annabeth said. "Convince him, will you?" She asked Percy.

She returned to the Athena table, ignoring all the people who were staring at her.

Grover and Percy left after that, and I finished my soggy Cocoa Puffs.

After breakfast, I walked through the woods that I knew like the back of my hand. I was only there a few minutes when I stopped by a fissure of rocks.

Today brought back bad memories. A day I remembered all too well.

_"Katya, get back, hide in here," my dad ushered me into a kitchen cabinet. Someone was banging on the door, trying to get in. Based on my dad's response, he wasn't good._

_"Why? Dad? What's happening?" My six year old self cried._

_ "Stay quiet, Buttercup. I just have to deal with this man first."_

_ He closed the cabinet door. I couldn't see anything, it was dark. I could hear dad open the door._

_ "Where is she?" A raspy voice called from the doorway._

_ "Who?"_

_ "Your daughter," the man sneered. "The half-breed."_

_ "Stay away from her." Dad warned in his firm voice._

_ "Move, the girl is a threat to the House."_

_ "Not my daughter, Menshikov."_

_ "Move, Lucas Kane, or face the consequences." _

_ Nothing was said. It was completely silent. And that was what made Katya even more scared. Then there was a blast of sound. Red light could be seen through the cracks in the cabinet door. Katya heard a grunt that sounded like her father._

_ The six year old Katya sucked in a breath of air as tears poured down her face. She shook her head a bit, she tried to readjust herself but ended up tumbling out of the kitchen cabinet._

_ She looked up to see the man; Menshikov grinning sadistically down at her._

_ Katya had never been so scared in her life._

_ "Hello, little half-breed."_

_ Katya looked past Menshikov and saw her dad, he had a large bloody hole in his chest. His white button up shirt was torn and blood still oozed from him even though he was long gone._

_ Katya had never been so angry in her life._

_ "You." She glared as fiercely as she could. Which didn't do much, since she was only six. Her hands balled into fist as she stood up to her short height of three and a half feet. _

_ Menshikov raised her staff towards her small chest about to end her like he killed her father._

_ Katya raised her hands, she didn't know what she was doing. But it felt natural._

_ Magic swirled in Menshikov's staff, but before the spell could do anything, ice blasted from Katya's fingertips. It hit his eyes. Katya grabbed one of her father's kitchen knives he was using to make dinner._

_ She slashed the knife around his eyes, then while he was screaming in pain, she ran out the back door and into the forest behind her house._

A tear ran down Katya's face as she relived the memory again. It still haunted her, Menshikov's sadistic grin still haunted her sleepless nights. She had seen a picture of his scars, the ones she had caused around his eyes. Then she heard a growl, right in front of her was the Aethiopian drakon that had prowled the camp's borders last night.

She did the only sensible thing. She ran. She dove for a fissure in between two rocks, she knew she couldn't run faster than the drakon, all she could do was hide. But she fell and hit her head on a rock. She had just enough consciousness to lift up her hand and feel the thick red blood coming from her head as she lay on the dirty ground. Her eyelids drifted closed and the world became darker than the cave.

**Percy**

After dinner, Quintus had us suit up in combat armor like we were getting ready for capture the flag, but the mood among the campers was a lot more serious. Sometime during the day the crates in the arena had disappeared, and I had a feeling whatever was in them had been emptied into the woods.

I couldn't find Katya anywhere. But it wasn't a big deal, today was _The _Day. All the campers knew about The Day. It was one day, every summer it was the same. Katya would just disappear. And anyone who had the guts to ask her about it would get their butts kicked.

"Right," Quintus said, standing on the head dining table. "Gather 'round."

He was dressed in black leather and bronze. In the torchlight, his gray hair made him look like a ghost. Mrs. O'Leary bounded happily around him, foraging for dinner scraps.

"You will be in teams of two," Quintus announced. When everybody started talking and trying to grab their friends, he yelled: "Which have already been chosen!"

"AWWWWW!" Everyone complained.

"Your goal is simple: collect the gold laurels without dying. The wreath is wrapped in a silk package, tied to the back of one of the monsters. There are six monsters. Each has a silk package. Only one holds the laurels. You must find the wreath before the other teams. And, of course… you will have to slay the monster to get it, and stay alive."

The crowd started murmuring excitedly. The task sounded straightforward. Hey, we'd all slain monsters before. That's what we trained for.

"I will announce your partners," Quintus said. "There will be no trading. No switching. No complaining."

"_Aroooof!" _Mrs. O'Leary buried her face in a plate of pizza.

Quintus produced a big scroll and started reading off names. Beckendorf would be with Silena Beauregard, which he looked pretty happy about. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, would be together. No surprise. They did everything together. Clarisse was with Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin—melee and ranged combat combined, they would be a tough combo to beat. Quintus kept rattling off the names until he said, "Percy Jackson and Katya Kane."

"Er, sir, Katya's not here." Annabeth said. The Day made everything about Katya awkward, it was like a bad omen.

"Right, this is The Day I've been hearing so much about. Annabeth join Percy."

"Grover Underwood with Tyson."

Grover just about jumped out of his goat fur. "What? B-but—"

"No, no," Tyson whimpered. "Must be a mistake. Goat boy—"

"No complaining!" Quintus ordered. "Get with you partner. You have two minutes to prepare!"

Tyson and Grover both looked at me pleadingly. I tried to give them and encouraging nod, and gestured that they should move together. Tyson sneezed. Grover started chewing nervously on his wooden club.

"They'll be fine," Annabeth said. "Come on. Let's worry about how we're going to stay alive."

It was still light when we got into the woods, but the shadows from the trees made it feel like midnight. It was cold, too, even in summer. Annabeth and I found tracks almost immediately—scuttling marks made by something with a lot of legs. We began to follow the trail.

We jumped a creek and heard some twigs snapping nearby. We crouched behind a boulder, but it was only the Stoll brothers tripping and cursing through the woods. Their dad was the god of thieves, but they were about as stealthy as a water buffaloes.

Once the Stolls had passed, we forged deeper into the west woods where the monsters were wilder. We were standing on a ledge overlooking a marshy pond when Annabeth tensed. "This is where we stopped looking."

It took me a second to realize what she meant. Last winter, when we'd been searching for Nico di Angelo, this is where we'd given up hope of finding him. Grover, Annabeth, and I convinced them not to tell Chiron the truth: that Nico was a son of Hades. At the time it seemed the right thing to do. I wanted to protect his identity. I wanted to be the one who found him and made things right for what happened to his sister. Katya had been gone, with her family for Christmas, a couple days after Christmas there were northern lights that came a bit too far south, the camp just decided to ignore it. Now, six months later, I hadn't even come close to finding Nico, and Katya was gone again. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I saw him last night," I said.

Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

I told her about the Iris-message. When I was done, she stared into the shadow of the woods. "He's summoning the dead. That's not good."

"The ghost was giving him bad advice," I said. "Telling him to take revenge."

"Yeah… spirits are never good advisers. They've got their own agendas. Old grudges. And they resent the living.

"He's going to come after me," I said. "The spirit mentioned a maze."

She nodded. "That settles it. We _have _to figure out the Labyrinth."

"Maybe," I said uncomfortably. "But who sent the Iris-message? If Nico didn't know I was there—"

A branch snapped in the woods. Dry leaves rustled. Something large was moving in the trees, just beyond the ridge.

"That's not the Stoll brothers," Annabeth whispered.

Together we drew our swords.

We got to Zeus' Fist, a big pile of boulders in the middle of the west woods. It was a natural landmark where campers often rendezvoused on hunting expeditions, but now there was nobody around.

"Over there," Annabeth whispered.

"No, wait," I said. "Behind us."

It was weird. Scuttling noises seemed to be coming from several different directions. We were circling the boulders, our swords drawn, when someone right behind us said, "Hi."

We whirled around, and the tree nymph Juniper yelped.

"Put those down!" She protested. "Dryads don't like sharp blades, okay?"

"Juniper," Annabeth exhaled. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here."

I lowered my sword. "In the boulders?"

She pointed toward the edge of the clearing. "In the juniper. Duh."

It made sense, and I felt kind of stupid. I'd been hanging around dryads for years, but I never really talked to them much. I knew they couldn't go far from their tree, which was their source of life. But I didn't know much else.

"Are you guys busy?" Juniper asked.

"Well," I said, "we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die."

"We're not busy," Annabeth said. "What's wrong, Juniper?"

Juniper sniffled. She wiped her silky sleeve under her eyes. "It's Grover. He seemed so distraught. All year he's been looking for Pan. And every time he comes back, it's worse. I thought maybe, at first, he was seeing another tree."

"No," Annabeth said, as Juniper started crying. "I'm sure that's not it."

"He had a crush on a blueberry bush once," Juniper said miserably.

"Juniper," Annabeth said, "Grover would never even _look _at another tree. He's just stressed out about his searcher's license."

"He can't go underground!" She protested. "You can't let him!"

Annabeth looked uncomfortable. "It might be the only way to help him; if we just knew where to start."

"Ah." Juniper wiped a green tear off her cheek. "About that…"

Another rustle in the woods, and Juniper yelled, "Hide!"

Before I could ask why, she went _poof _in green mist.

Annabeth and I turned. Coming out of the woods was a glistening amber insect, ten feet long, with jagged pincers, an armored tail, and a stinger as long as my sword. A scorpion. Tied to its back was a red silk package.

"One of us gets behind it," Annabeth said, as the thing clattered towards us. "Cuts off the tail while the other distracts it in the front."

"I'll take point," I said. "You've got the invisibility hat."

She nodded. We'd fought together so many times we knew each other's moves. We could do this, easy. We were just missing Katya. But then two more scorpions came out of the woods.

_"Three?" _Annabeth said. "That's not possible! The whole woods, and half the monsters come at us?"

I swallowed. One, we could take. Two, with a little luck. Three? Doubtful.

The scorpions scurried towards us, whipping their barbed tails like they'd come here just to kill us. Annabeth and I put our backs against the nearest boulder.

"Climb?" I asked.

"No time," she said.

She was right. The scorpions were already surrounding us. They were so close I could see their hideous mouths foaming, anticipating a nice juicy meal of demigods.

"Look out!" Annabeth parried away a stinger with the flat of her blade. I stabbed with Riptide, but the scorpion backed out of range. We clambered sideways along the boulders, but the scorpions followed us I slashed at another one, but going on the offensive was too dangerous. If I went for the tail, the thing's pincers came from either side and tried to grab me. All we could do was defend, and we wouldn't be able to keep that up for long.

I took another sideways step, and suddenly there was nothing behind me. It was a crack between the two of the largest boulders, something I'd probably passed a million times, but…

"In here," I said.

Annabeth sliced at a scorpion then looked at me like I was crazy. "In _there? _It's too narrow."

"I'll cover you. Go!"

She ducked behind me and started squeezing between the two boulders. Then she yelped and grabbed my armor straps, and suddenly I was tumbling into a pit that hadn't been there a moment before. I could see the scorpions above us, the purple evening sky and trees, and then the hole shut like the lens of a camera, and we were in complete darkness.

Our breathing echoed against stone. It was wet and cold. I was sitting on a bumpy floor that seemed to be made of bricks.

I lifted Riptide. The faint glow of the blade was just enough to illuminate Annabeth's frightened face and the mossy stone walls on either side of us.

"Wh-what? Is this blood?" She held up her hands to the blade, and sure enough dark red blood coated the palms of her hands. I held Riptide down to the ground looking for whatever was injured.

Katya's face glowed in the bronze illumination. Her head was split open with dried blood. She was still breathing, that was good. And it looked like the blood stopped, also good.

"Where are we?" Annabeth asked.

"Safe from scorpions, anyway. Why is Katya here?" I tried to sound calm, but I was freaking out. The cracks in the boulders couldn't have led into a cave. I would've known if there was a cave here; I was sure of it. It was like the ground had opened up and swallow. All I could think of was the fissure in the dining pavilion, where those skeletons had been consumed last summer. I wondered if the same thing happened to us.

"I bet she fell, and hit her head."

I lifted my sword again for light.

"It's a long room," I muttered.

"It's not a room. It's a corridor."

She was right. The darkness felt…emptier in front of us. There was a warm breeze, like in subway tunnels, only it felt older, more dangerous somehow.

I started forward, but Annabeth stopped me. "Don't take another step," she warned. "We need to find the exit."

She sounded really scared now.

"It's okay. It's right—"

I looked up and realized I couldn't see where we'd fallen in. The ceiling was solid stone. The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions.

I immediately put my sword to the ground trying to find Katya. She was still there, I grabbed hold of her hand not wanting to lose her in this changing corridor.

"Two steps back," she advised.

I lifted Katya into my arms, I always knew she was really small, but this just proved how _tiny _she was. We stepped backwards like we were in a minefield.

"Okay," Annabeth said. "Help me examine the walls."

"What for?"

"The mark of Daedalus," she said, as if that was supposed to make sense.

"Uh, okay. What kind of—"

"Got it!" She said with relief. She set her hand on the wall and pressed against a tiny fissure, which began to blue. A Greek symbol appeared: ∆, the Ancient Greek Delta.

The roof slid open and we saw the night sky, stars blazing. It was a lot darker than it should've been. Metal ladder rungs appeared in the side of the wall, leading up, and I could hear people yelling our names.

"Percy! Annabeth!" Tyson's voice bellowed the loudest, but others were calling too.

I looked nervously at Annabeth. Then I began to climb. She hoisted the limp body of Katya after me and then climbed up after herself.

We made our way around the rocks and ran into Clarisse and a bunch of other campers carrying torches.

"Where have you two been?" Clarisse demanded. "We've been looking forever. And what happened to Katya?"

I suddenly became very subconscious about carrying Katya. "We were only gone a few minutes," Annabeth said.

Chiron trotted up, followed by Tyson and Grover.

"Percy!" Tyson said. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," I said. "We fell in a hole."

The others looked at me skeptically, then at Annabeth.

"Honest!" I said. "There were three scorpions after us, so we ran and hid in the rocks. But we were only gone a minute."

"You've been missing for almost an hour," Chiron said. "The game is over. Why don't you take Miss Kane to the infirmary?"

"Yeah," Grover muttered. "We would've won, but a Cyclops sat on me."

"Was an accident!" Tyson protested, and then he sneezed.

Clarisse was wearing the gold laurels, but she didn't even brag about winning them, which wasn't like her. "A hole?" She said suspiciously.

Annabeth took a deep breath. She looked around at the other campers. "Chiron… maybe we should talk about this at the Big House."

Clarisse gasped. "You found it, didn't you?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "I—Yeah. Yeah, we did."

A bunch of campers started asking questions, looking about as confused as I was, but Chiron raised his hand for silence. "Tonight is not the right time, and this is not the right place." He stared at the boulders as if he'd just noticed how dangerous they were. "All of you, back to your cabins. Get some sleep. A game well played, but curfew is past!"

There was a lot of mumbling and complaints, but the campers drifted off, talking amongst themselves and giving me suspicious looks.

"This explains a lot," Clarisse said. "It explains what Luke is after."

"Wait a second," I said. "What do you mean? What did we find?"

Annabeth turned toward me, her eyes dark with worry. "An entrance to the Labyrinth. An invasion route straight into the heart of camp."

"Why? Dad? What's happening?" Katya cried in her sleep. I almost dropped her as she turned in my arms. Tears streamed down her face.

"The poor girl, reliving bad memories. Take her back to her cabin." Chiron ordered.

**So, what do you think about Katya's past? Please review!**


	4. Chapter IV

_**Chapter IV**_

**Katya**

I don't know how I fell asleep, but I was having dreams. At first it was just replays of my dad's death. Then the scene changed.

In front of me was a sea of mist, fire, or water. It looked like a mixture of each. Grayish-red matter churned in the sea, boiling and smoking. The sea looked like it had no end.

Solid ground poured into the sea to be eaten up. Chunks of solid ground, trees, buildings, and statues were constantly being sucked into the sea. Even the demons weren't immune to the pull of the sea. I felt myself pulled to it, too. I couldn't move my feet though.

"Katya Kane," A raspy voice sounded from the sea. It sounded like it had just drank acid. "You have come far. But your destiny is still written. You will be the end of me for many millennia. Be prepared. I will end the world, then end you, after you've watched the deaths of everyone you care for."

I tried to back away from the sea but all I succeeded in was being pulled a foot closer to it. I looked frantically left and right, trying to find a way out of this place.

"Be prepared, Katya Kane," it said, then the world vanished in a flash.

I sat straight up, my senses were disorientated and I couldn't see anything from that flash. I tried to stand up but two hands held me down.

"Whoa, lay back down, you're not well enough yet. You took a nasty bump to the head," a soft male voice said as he pushed me back. My vision cleared and I saw the face of Will Solace. "Let me get you a new bandage on your head."

I relaxed and let him take of the gauze that was taped to the corner of my head.

"You have a minor concussion and you'll be let out tomorrow morning."

"Can't I just go back to my cabin and rest there?" I asked.

"No. We both know that you'll ignore me and go out anyway," he replied. Of course that was true, but he didn't need to point out my lie. I let him patch me up in silence.

"So, what happened? Percy said he fell in a hole and he and Annabeth found you unconscious there," he told me.

"What? I don't remember anything. The last thing I remember was that drakon chasing me into that fissure of rocks."

"That's when you hit your head. You were out for twelve hours after that, you were probably only out for a couple minutes in the cavern, but you were gone all day here."

He finished with the bandage and stood up. The door opened loudly, and Will looked irritated. "I told you, she can't have any visitors. She's not stable yet."

"So is she awake?" Percy's voice asked ignoring Will's comment.

"Yeah, but—"Percy pushed past him and came to stand next to my bed.

"Hey, Katya. We talked at the Big House. Annabeth is going on a quest into the Labyrinth. There's an entrance in the place where we fell in. She wants us on the quest."

"What!" Will popped his head through the curtains. "She's not in any shape to go on a quest!"

"I'm still here, Will. It's just a concussion. Besides, I've endured worse."

"Like what?" Will asked haughtily.

"I've broken my rib after jumping out of the Washington Monument, then rode a Pegasus across the country," I said smoothly. "Now go, this isn't any of your business."

"You don't have to go on the quest," Percy said. His voice was teasing but his eyes had something else I couldn't read.

"Yes, I do. I had a dream."

"What was it about?"

"A raspy voice coming from the sea. It was threatening me, it said, 'You have come far. But your destiny is still written. You will be the end of me for many millennia.' I don't know what it means," I said. Percy paled.

"Do you think… my Dad?"

"No, this ocean, it was red and gray and it was destructive. The voice wasn't Poseidon. The land wasn't even in this world, I don't think."

"Alright. We'll figure it out. Just another guy who wants to destroy the world."

"Yeah, go get ready. We have another quest."

Percy left with another worried glance at me. Will came back in with a bit of ambrosia, and I ate it quickly, not wanting the memory of peach cobbler by the fire with dad.

"So, what were you dreaming about?" Will asked. I looked at him with wide eyes and he blushed. "No, I mean, you were having dreams while you were knocked out. Something about your dad."

"It was nothing," I said. "I need to go. You know, quest to prepare for and all."

Before he could say anything I was already out of the door.

Chiron rolled into my cabin, he was in his wheelchair form. "This quest is dangerous. Taking five, it's not going to end well."

"I know, three is a powerful number, but, I am not actually Olympian. This is something I have to do. Please, I had a dream. I'm not sure if it was Greek or Egyptian."

"Very well, but be warned, there will be consequences."

The next morning we were ready to leave. It was just after dawn and the quest group had gathered at Zeus' Fist. My knapsack was filled with the basic camping essentials, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and extra batteries. Then there was also some extra things, like my wand, staff, and twine and wax plus ambrosia and nectar.

Percy and Tyson came over to us. I didn't pay much attention to them, or anyone else. I just stared into the fissure of rocks. It looked like it was about to eat me alive.

"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."

"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.

And together, the four of us descended into the endless maze.


	5. Chapter V

_**Chapter V**_

**Katya**

The first hundred feet were fine, but then we became hopelessly lost.

The tunnel was round like a sewer, constructed of red brick with iron-barred portholes every ten feet.

Annabeth tried her best to guide us. She had this idea that we should stick to the left wall.

"If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it," she said, "we should be able to find our way out again by reversing course."

As soon as she said that, the left wall disappeared. We found ourselves in the middle of a circular chamber with eight tunnels leading out, and no idea how we'd gotten there.

We each turned toward a different tunnel. It was ridiculous. None of us could decide which way led back to camp.

"Left walls are mean," Tyson said. "Which way now?"

Annabeth swept her flashlight beam over the archways of the eight tunnels. As far as I could tell, they were identical. "That way," she said.

"How do you know?" Percy asked.

"Deductive reasoning."

"You're guessing?" I asked.

"Just come on," she said.

The tunnel she chosen narrowed quickly. The walls turned to gray cement, and the ceiling got so low that pretty soon we were hunched over, Tyson was forced to crawl.

Grover's hyperventilating was the loudest noise in the maze. "I can't stand it anymore," he would whisper. "Are we there yet?"

"We've been down here maybe five minutes," Annabeth told him.

"It's been longer than that," Grover insisted. "And why would Pan be down here? This is the opposite of the wild!"

We kept shuffling forward. Just when I was sure the tunnel would get so narrow it would squish us, it opened into a huge room.

"Whoa." Percy said.

The whole room was covered in mosaic tiles. The pictures were grimy and faded, but I could still make out the colors—red, blue, green, gold. The frieze showed the Olympian gods at a feast.

The pictures were beautiful, but they weren't very realistic.

In the middle of the room was a three-tiered fountain. It looked like it hadn't held water in a long time.

"What is this place?" Percy muttered. "It looks—"

"Roman," I said.

"Those mosaics are about two thousand years old."

"But how can they be Roman?" Percy asked.

"The Labyrinth is a patchwork," Annabeth said. "I told you, it's always expanding, adding pieces. It's the only work of architecture that grows by itself."

"You make it sound like it's alive," I said.

A groaning noise echoed from the tunnel ahead of us. "Let's not talk about it being alive," Grover whimpered. "Please?"

I walked ahead.

"Katya," Percy called. "Come back. We don't know what's back there."

"That's exactly what I'm going to figure out," I said back.

"All right," Annabeth said. "Forward."

Soon the maze messed us up again—we went fifty feet and the tunnel turned back to cement, with brass pipes running down the sides. The walls were spray-painted with graffiti. A neon tagger sign read **MOZ RULES**.

"I'm thinking this is not Roman," Percy said. I rolled my eyes at his _helpfulness._

Annabeth took a deep breath, then forged ahead.

Every few feet the tunnel twisted and turned and branched off. The floor beneath us changed from cement to mud bricks and back again. There was no sense to any of it. We stumbled into a wine cellar—a bunch of dusty bottles in wooden racks—like we were walking through somebody's basement, only there was no exit above us, just more tunnels leading on.

Later the ceiling turned to wooden planks, and I could hear voices above us and the creaking of footsteps, as if we were under a bar. It was reassuring to hear other people, but we couldn't get to them, we were trapped. Then we found our first skeleton.

He was dressed in white clothes, like a uniform. A wooden crate of empty bottles sat next to him. A milkman.

"A milkman," Annabeth said exactly what I was thinking.

"What?" Percy asked.

"They used to deliver milk."

"Yeah, I know what they are, but… that was when my mom was little, like a million years ago. What's he doing here?"

"Some people wander in by mistake," Annabeth said. "Some come exploring on purpose and never make it back. A long time ago, the Cretans even sent people in here as human sacrifices."

Grover gulped. "He's been down here a long time." He pointed to the bottles, which were coated with white dust. The skeleton's fingers were clawing at the brick wall, as if he died trying to get out.

"Only bones," Tyson said. "Don't worry, goat boy. The milkman is dead."

"The milkman doesn't bother me," Grover said. "It's the smell. Monsters. Can't you smell it?"

Tyson nodded. "Lots of monsters. But underground smells like that. Monsters and dead milk people."

"Oh, good," Grover whimpered. "I thought maybe I was wrong."

"We have to get deeper into the maze," Annabeth said. "There has to be a way to the center."

She led us to the right, then the left, through a corridor of stainless steel like an airshaft, and we arrived back in the Roman tile room with the fountain.

This time, we weren't alone.

He had to faces. They jutted out from either side of his head, staring over his shoulders, so his head was much wider than it should have been. He looked like a hammerhead shark, looking straight at him all I saw were two overlapping ears and mirror-image sideburns.

He was dressed like a New York City doorman: a long black overcoat, shiny shoes, and a black top-hat that somehow managed to stay on his double-wide head.

"Well, Annabeth?" Said his left face. "Hurry up!"

"Don't mind him," said the right face. "He's terribly rude. Right this way, miss."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Uh… I don't…"

Tyson frowned. "That funny man has two faces."

"The funny man has ears, you know!" The left face scolded. "Now come along, miss."

"No, no," said the right face. "This way, miss. Talk to _me, _please."

The two-faced man regarded Annabeth as best he could out of the corners of his eyes. It was impossible to look at him straight on without focusing on one side or the other. And suddenly I realized that's what he was asking—he wanted Annabeth to choose.

Behind him were to exits, blocked by wooden doors with huge iron locks. They hadn't been there our first time through the room. The two-faced doorman held a silver key, which he kept passing from his left hand to his right hand.

Behind us, the doorway we'd come through had disappeared, replaced by more mosaics. We couldn't go back.

"The exits are closed," Annabeth said.

"Duh!" The left face said.

"Where do they lead?" She asked.

"One probably leads the way you wish to go," the right face said encouragingly. "The other leads to certain death."

"I—I know who you are," Annabeth said.

"Oh, you're a smart one!" The left face sneered. "But do you know which way to choose? I don't have all day."

"Why are you trying to confuse me?" Annabeth asked.

The right face smiled. "You're in charge now, my dear. All the decisions are on your shoulders. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"I—"

"We know you Annabeth," the left face said. "We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision. You will have to make a choice sooner or later. And the choice may kill you."

I didn't know what they were talking about, but I think it was more than a choice between doors.

The color drained out of Annabeth's face. "No… I don't—"

"Leave her alone," I said.

"Who are you anyway?" Percy asked.

"I'm your best friend," the right face said.

"I'm your worst enemy," the left face said.

"I'm Janus," both faces said in harmony. "God of Doorways. Beginnings. Endings. Choices."

"Are you going to tell your friends the reason behind your disappearance yesterday, Katya Kane?" They asked in unison. "Who are you, really? Your friends don't know the real you, only half of it? Are you going to choose between? Brooklyn House or Camp Half-Blood?"

"I—"my voice cut off in my throat, my hands were sweaty, I felt like bursting into tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the right face. "It's Annabeth's turn."

"This is serious," said the left face. "One bad choice can ruin your whole life. It can kill you and all your friends. But no pressure, Annabeth. Choose!"

"Choose, Katya!" Yelled the right face.

"Don't do it," Percy said. "Either of you, not if you don't want to."

"I'm afraid they have to," the right face said cheerfully.

Annabeth moistened her lips. "I—I choose—"

Before she could point to a door, a brilliant light flooded the room.

Janus raised his hands to either side of his head to cover his eyes. When the light died, a woman was standing at the fountain.

She was tall and graceful with long hair the color of chocolate, braided in plaits with gold ribbons. She wore simple white dress, but when she moved, the fabric shimmered with colors like oil on water.

"Janus," she said, "are we causing trouble again?"

"N-no, milady!" Janus' right face stammered.

"Yes!" The left said.

"Shut up!" The right face said.

"Excuse me?" The woman asked.

"Not you, milady! I was talking to myself."

"I see," the lady said. "You know very well your visit is premature. Both girls' times are yet to come. So I give _you _a choice: leave these heroes to me, or I shall turn _you _into a door and break you down."

"What kind of door?" The left face asked.

"Shut up!' The right face said.

"Because French doors are nice," the left face mused. "Lots of natural light."

"Shut up!" The right face wailed. "Not you, milady! Of course I'll leave. I was just having a bit of fun. Doing my job. Offering choices."

"Causing indecision," the woman corrected. "Now be gone!"

The left face muttered, "Party pooper," then he raised his silver key, inserted it into the air, and disappeared.

The woman turned to us, it was Hera, Queen of Heaven.

"You must be hungry," she said. "Sit with me and talk."

She waved her hand, and the old Roman fountain began to flow. Jets of clear water sprayed into the air. A marble table appeared, laden with platters of sandwiches and pitchers of lemonade.

"Who… who are you?" I asked.

I'd seen Hera before, of course, when she voted to kill me. Now, Hera looked like a regular mom.

She served us sandwiches and poured lemonade.

"Grover, dear," she said, "use your napkin. Don't eat it."

"Yes, ma'am," Grover said.

"Tyson, you're wasting away. Would you like another peanut butter sandwich?"

Tyson stifled a belch. "Yes, nice lady."

"Queen Hera," Annabeth said. "I can't believe it. What are you doing in the Labyrinth?"

Hera smiled. She flicked one finger and Annabeth's hair combed itself. All the dirt and grime disappeared from her face.

"I came to see you, naturally," Hera said.

Percy and I exchanged nervous looks. Usually when gods come looking for you, it's not out of the goodness of their hearts. It's because they want something.

Still, that didn't keep me from eating. I just wish I had some _sahlab _to calm my nerves, the vanilla drink always helped.

"I didn't think—"Annabeth faltered. "Well, I didn't think you liked heroes."

Hera smiled indulgently. "Because of that little spat I had with Hercules? Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement."

"Didn't you try to kill him, like, a lot of times?" Annabeth asked.

Hera waved her hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge, my dear. Besides, he was one of my loving husband's children by _another _woman. My patience wore thin, I'll admit it. But Zeus and I have had some excellent marriage counseling sessions since then. We've aired our feelings and come to an understanding—especially after that last incident."

"You mean when he sired Thalia?" Percy guessed, but I wish he hadn't. As soon as he said the name of our friend, the half-blood daughter of Zeus, Hera's eyes turned toward him frostily.

"Percy Jackson, isn't it? One of Poseidon's… children. As I recall, I voted to let you live at the winter solstice. I hope I voted correctly."

She turned to Annabeth with a sunny smile. "At any rate, I certainly bear you no ill will, my girl. I appreciate the difficulty of you quest. Especially when you have trouble makers like Janus to deal with."

Annabeth lowered her gaze. "Why was he here? He was driving me crazy."

"Trying to," Hera agreed. "You must understand, the minor gods like Janus have always been frustrated by the small parts they play in the universe. Some, I fear, have little love for Olympus, and could easily be swayed to support the rise of my father."

"Your father?" Percy asked. "Oh. Right."

"We must watch the minor gods," Hera said. "Janus. Hecate. Morpheus. They give lip service to Olympus, and yet—"

"That's where Dionysus went," I remembered. "He was checking on minor gods."

"Indeed." Hera said staring at the mosaics of the Olympians. "You see, in times of trouble, even gods can lose faith. They start putting their trust in the wrong things, petty things. They stop looking at the big picture and start being selfish. But I'm the goddess of marriage, you see. I'm used to perseverance. You have to rise above the squabbling and chaos, and keep believing. You have to always keep your goals in mind."

"What are your goals?" Annabeth asked.

Hera smiled. "To keep my family, the Olympians, together, of course. At the moment, the best way I can do that is by helping you. Zeus does not allow me to interfere much, I am afraid. But once every century or so, for a quest I care deeply about, he allows me to grant a wish."

"A wish?"

"Before you ask it, let me give you some advice, which I can do for free. I know you seek Daedalus. His Labyrinth is as much a mystery to me as it is you. But if you want to know his fate, I would visit my son Hephaestus at his forge. Daedalus was a great inventor, a mortal after Hephaestus' heart. There has never been a mortal Hephaestus admired more. If anyone would have kept up with Daedalus and could tell you his fate, it is Hephaestus."

"But how do we get there?" Annabeth asked. "That's my wish. I want a way to navigate the Labyrinth."

Hera looked disappointed. "So be it. You wish for something, however, that you have already been given."

"I don't understand."

"The means is already within your grasp. Percy knows the answer."

"I do?" Percy asked.

"But that's not fair," Annabeth said. "You're not telling us what it is!"

Hera shook her head. "Getting something and having the wits to use it… those are two different things. I'm sure your mother Athena would agree."

The room rumbled like distant thunder. Hera stood. "That would be my cue. Zeus grows impatient. Think on what I have said, Annabeth. Seek out Hephaestus. You will have to pass through the ranch, I imagine. But keep going. And use all means at your disposal, however common they may seem."

Hera regarded me for the first time since she arrived. "I also wish to protect my family from our enemies. It would be wise not to associate yourselves with them."

I had a sinking feeling she meant the House of Life and the gods. Hera pointed toward the two doors and they melted away, revealing twin corridors, open and dark. "One last thing, Annabeth. I have postponed your day of choice. I have not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you _will _have to make a decision. Farewell!"

She waved a hand and turned into white smoke. So did the food, just as Tyson bit down on a sandwich that turned to mist in his mouth. The fountain trickled to a stop. The mosaic walls dimmed and turned grungy and faded again.

Annabeth stomped her foot. "What sort of help is that? 'Here, have a sandwich. Make a wish. Oops, I can't help you!' Poof!"

"Poof," Tyson agreed sadly.

"Well," Grover sighed, "she said Percy knows the answer. That's something."

They all looked at me.

"But I don't," Percy said. "I don't know what she was talking about."

Annabeth sighed. "All right. Then we'll keep going.'

"Which way?" I asked. Grover and Tyson both tensed. They stood up at the same time, as if they rehearsed it. "Left," they both said.

Annabeth frowned. "How can you be sure?"

"Because something big is coming from the right," Grover said.

"Something big," Tyson agreed. "In a hurry."

"Left is sounding pretty good," Percy decided. Together we plunged into the dark corridor.

**Thank you to those who comment. Thank you to those who read. Thank you, one, and thank you all! I am so happy, I can't even describe it. I feel so loved, I am glad so many people like my story.**

** into_labyrinth/set?id=145067344&lid=4154215**

** Please review to prove it to me!**


	6. Chapter VI

_**Chapter VI**_

**Katya**

The tunnel was straight with no exits, twists or turns. But, it was a dead end. After sprinting a hundred yards, we ran into an enormous boulder that completely blocked our path. Behind us, the sounds of dragging footsteps and heavy breathing echoed down the corridor. Something—definitely not human—was on our tail.

"Tyson," Percy said, "can you—"

"Yes!" He slammed his shoulder against the rock so hard the whole tunnel shook. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling

"Hurry!" Grover said. "Don't bring the roof down, but hurry!"

The boulder finally gave way with a horrible grinding noise. Tyson pushed it into a small room and we dashed through behind it.

"Close the entrance!" Annabeth said.

We all got to the other side of the boulder and pushed. Whatever was chasing us wailed in frustration as we heaved the rock back into place and sealed the corridor.

"We trapped it," Percy said.

"We trapped ourselves," I said. We were in a twenty-foot-square cement room, and the opposite wall was covered with metal bars. We'd tunneled straight into a cell.

"What in Hades?" Annabeth tugged on the bars. They didn't budge. Through the bars we could see rows of cells in a ring around a dark courtyard—at least three stories of metal doors and metal catwalks.

"A prison," I said.

"Maybe Tyson can break—"

"Shh," said Grover. "Listen."

Somewhere above us, deep sobbing echoed through the building. There was another sound, too—a raspy voice muttering something I couldn't make out. The words were strange, like rocks in a tumbler.

"What's that language?" I whispered.

Tyson's eye widened. "Can't be."

"What?" I asked.

He grabbed two bars on our cell door and bent them wide enough for even a Cyclops to fit through.

"Wait!" Grover called.

But Tyson wasn't about to wait. We ran after him. The prison was dark, only a few dim fluorescent lights flickering above.

"I know this place," Annabeth told Percy and I. "This is Alcatraz."

"You mean that island near San Francisco?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded. "My school took a field trip here. It's like a museum."

It didn't seem possible that we could've ended up on Alcatraz on the other side of the country and across part of the ocean. But Annabeth had been living in San Francisco all year keeping an eye on Mount Tamalpais just across the bay. She probably knew what she was talking about.

"Freeze," Grover warned Tyson.

But Tyson kept going. Grover grabbed his arm and pulled him back with all his strength. "Stop, Tyson!" He whispered. "Can't you see it?"

I looked where he was pointing and my stomach did a roll. On the second-floor balcony, across the courtyard, was a monster more horrible than anything I'd ever seen before.

It was a sort of centaur, with a woman's body from the waist up. But instead of a horse's lower body, it had the body of a dragon—at least twenty feet long, black and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Her legs looked like they were tangled in vines, but then I realized they were sprouting snakes, like Medusa's. Weirdest of all, around her waist, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing the heads of animals—a vicious wolf, a bear, a lion, as if she were wearing a belt of ever0changing beasts. I really wanted a little bunny to come out. I got the feeling I was looking at something half formed, a monster that was from the beginning of time, before shapes had been fully defined.

"It's her," Tyson whimpered.

"Get down!" Grover said.

We crouched in the shadows, but the monster didn't seem to be paying much attention to us. It seemed to be talking to someone inside a cell on the second floor. That's where the sobbing was coming from. The monster said something in a different language.

"What's she saying?" Percy muttered. "What's that language?"

"The tongue of the old times." Tyson shivered. "What Mother Earth spoke to Titans and… her other children. Before the gods."

"You understand it?" I asked. "Can you translate?"

Tyson closed his eyes and began to speak in a horrible, raspy woman's voice. "You will work for the master or suffer."

Annabeth shuddered. "I hate it when he does that."

Tyson, like all Cyclopes, had superhuman hearing and an uncanny ability to mimic voices. It was almost like a trance when he spoke in someone else's voice.

"I will not serve," Tyson said in deep, wounded voice.

He switched to the monster's voice: "Then I shall enjoy your pain, Briares." Tyson faltered when he said the name. I'd never heard him break out of character when he was mimicking voices, but he let out a strangled gulp. Then he continued in the monster's voice. "If you thought your first imprisonment was unbearable, you have yet to feel true torment. Think on this until I return."

The dragon lady tromped toward the stairwell, vipers hissing around her legs like grass skirts. She spread her wings—huge bat wings she kept folded against her dragon back. She leaped off the catwalk and soared across the courtyard. We crouched lower in the shadows. A hot sulfurous wind blasted my face as the monster flew over. Then she disappeared around the corner.

"H-h-horrible," Grover said. "I've never smelled any monster that strong."

"Cyclopes' worst nightmare," Tyson murmured. "Kampệ."

"Who?" Percy asked.

Tyson swallowed. "Every Cyclops knows about her. Stories about her scare us when we're babies. She was our jailer in the bad years."

Annabeth nodded. "I remember now. When the Titans ruled, they imprisoned Gaea and Ouranos' earlier children—the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires."

"The Heka-what?" Percy asked.

"They Hundred-Handed Ones," she said. "They called them that because… well, they had a hundred hands. They were elder brothers of the Cyclopes."

"Very powerful," Tyson said. "Wonderful! As tall as the sky. So strong they could break mountains!"

"Cool," Percy said. "Unless you're a mountain."

"Kampệ was the jailer," he said. "She worked for Kronos. She kept our brothers locked up in Tartarus, tortured them always, until Zeus came. He killed Kampệ and freed Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones to help fight against the Titans in the big war."

"And now Kampệ is back," I said.

"Bad," Tyson summed it up.

"So who's in that cell?" Percy asked. "You said a name—"

"Briares!" Tyson perked up. "He is a Hundred-Handed One. They are as tall as the sky and—"

"Yeah," Percy said. "They break mountains."

I looked at the cells above us, wondering how something as tall as the sky could fit into a tiny cell, and why he was crying.

"I guess we should check it out," Annabeth said, "before Kampệ comes back."

As we approached the cell, the weeping got louder. When I first saw the creature inside, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. He was human-size and his skin was very pale, almost as pale as my skin. He wore a loincloth like a big diaper. His feet seemed too big for his body, with cracked and dirty toenails, and eight toes on each foot. But the top half of his body was the weird part. He made Janus look downright normal. His chest sprouted more arms than I could count, in rows, all around his body. The arms looked like normal arms, except there were so many of them, all tangled together, that his chest looked like a forkful of spaghetti someone twisted around a fork. Several of his hands were covering his face as he sobbed.

"Either the sky isn't as tall as it used to be," Percy muttered, "or he's short."

Tyson didn't pay any attention. He fell to his knees.

"Briares!" He called.

The sobbing stopped.

"Great Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson said. "Help us!"

Briares looked up. His face was long and sad, with a crooked nose and bad teeth. His eyes were a deep brown—with no whites or pupils, like they were formed out of clay.

"Run while you can, Cyclops," Briares said miserably. "I cannot even help myself."

"You are a Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson insisted. "You can do anything!"

Briares wiped his nose with five hands. Several others were fidgeting with little pieces of metal and wood from a broken bed, the way Tyson always played with spare parts. It was amazing to watch. The hands seemed to have a mind of their own. They built a toy boat out of wood, then disassembled it as quickly as they made it. Other hands were scratching at the cement floor for no apparent reason. Others were playing rock, paper, scissors. A few others were making shadow puppets against the wall.

"I cannot," Briares moaned. "Kampệ is back! The Titans will rise and throw us back into Tartarus."

"Put on your brave face!" Tyson said.

Immediately Briares face changed into something else. Same brown eyes, but otherwise totally different features. He had an upturned nose, arched eyebrows, and a weird smile, like he was trying to act brave. But then his face turned back to what it had been before.

"No good,' he said. "My scared face keeps coming back."

"How did you do that?" Percy asked.

Annabeth elbowed him. "Don't be rude. The Hundred-Handed Ones have fifty different faces."

"Must make it hard to get a yearbook picture," Percy muttered making me smile.

Tyson was still entranced. "It will be okay, Briares! We will help you! Can I have your autograph?"

Briares sniffled. "Do you have one hundred pens?"

"Guys," Grover interrupted. "We have to get out of here. Kampệ will be back. She'll sense us sooner or later."

"Break the bars," Annabeth ordered.

"Yes!" Tyson said, smiling proudly. "Briares can do it. He is very strong. Stronger than Cyclops, even! Watch!"

Briares whimpered. A dozen of his hands started playing patty-cake, but none of them made any attempt to break the bars.

"If he's so strong," Percy said, "why is he stuck in jail?"

Annabeth ribbed him again. "He's terrified," she whispered. "Kampệ imprisoned him in Tartarus for thousands of years. How would you feel?"

"I would be angry," I spoke up. "Briares, the only reason you are imprisoned is because you are too weak minded to free yourself. You have the physical strength, but you don't have the guts to do it!"

"Katya," Annabeth warned.

"Briares?" Tyson asked. "What… what is wrong? Show us your great strength!"

"Tyson," Annabeth said, "I think you'd better break the bars."

Tyson's smile melted away.

"I will break the bars," he repeated. He grabbed the cell door and ripped it off its hinges like it was made of paper.

"Come on, Briares," Annabeth said. "Let's get you out of here."

She held out her hand. For a second, Briares' face morphed into a hopeful expression. Several of his arms reached out, but twice as many slapped them away.

"I cannot," he said. "She will punish me."

I rolled my eyes. "Not if we leave now, then she won't be able to get you."

"It's all right," Annabeth promised. "You fought the Titans before, and you won, remember?"

"I remember the war," Briares morphed again—furrowed brow and a puted mouth. His brooding face. "Lightning shook the world. We threw many rocks. The Titans and the monsters almost won. Now they are getting strong again. Kampệ said so."

"Don't listen to her," Percy said "Come on!"

He didn't move. I knew Grover was right. We didn't have much time until Kampệ came back.

"One game of rock, paper, scissors," Percy blurted out. "If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we'll leave you in jail."

I looked at him like I was crazy.

Briares' face morphed into a doubtful look. "I always win rock, paper, scissors."

"Then let's do it!" He pounded his fist in his palm three times.

Briares did the same with all one hundred of his hands, which sounded like an army marching three steps forward. He came up with a whole avalanche of rocks, a classroom set of scissors, and enough paper to make a fleet of airplanes.

"I told you," Briares said sadly. "I always—"His face morphed into confusion. "What is that you made?"

"A gun," Percy told him, I smiled as he showed Briares his finger gun. "A gun beats anything."

"That's not fair."

"I didn't say anything about fair. Kampệ's not going to be fair if we hang around. She's going to blame you for ripping off the bars. Now come on!"

Briares sniffled. "Demigods are cheaters." But he slowly rose to his feet and followed us out of the cell.

I started to feel hopeful, maybe we would get back to the Labyrinth without Kampệ finding us. But then Tyson froze.

On the ground floor right below, Kampệ was snarling at us.

"The other way," Percy said.

We bolted down the catwalk. This time Briares was happy to follow us. In fact he sprinted out front, a hundred arms waving in panic.

Behind us, I heard the sound of giant wings as Kampệ took to the air. She hissed and growled in her ancient language.

We scrambled down the stairs, through a corridor, and past a guard's station—out into another block of prison cells.

"Left," Annabeth said. "I remember this from the tour."

We burst outside and found ourselves in the prison yard, ringed by security towers and barbed wire. After being inside so long, the daylight almost blinded me. Tourists were milling around, taking pictures. The wind whipped cold off the bay. In the south, San Francisco gleamed all white and beautiful, but in the north over Mount Tamalpais, huge storm clouds swirled. The whole sky seemed like a black top spinning from the mountain where Atlas was imprisoned, and where the Titan palace of Mount Othrys was rising anew. It was hard to believe the tourists couldn't see the supernatural storm brewing, but they didn't give any hint that anything was wrong.

"It's even worse," Annabeth said, gazing to the north. "The storms have been bad all year, but that—"

"Keep moving," Briares wailed. "She is behind us!"

That was all it took to send us running again. We ran to the far end of the yard, as far from the cellblock as possible.

"Kampệ's too big to get through the doors," Percy said hopefully.

"Yeah, hopefully," I said.

Then the wall exploded.

Tourist's screamed as Kampệ appeared from the dust and rubble, her wings spread out as wide as the yard. She was holding two swords—long bronze scimitars that glowed with a weird greenish aura, boiling wisps of vapor that smelled sour and hot even across the yard.

"Poison!" Grover yelped. "Don't let those things touch you or…"

"Or we'll die?" Percy guessed.

"Well…after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes."

"Let's avoid the swords, then," I decided.

"Briares, fight!" Tyson urged. "Grow to full size!"

Instead, Briares looked like he was trying to shrink even smaller. He was wearing his terrified face.

I had enough of this self-pitying baby. It was annoying how sad he was.

"Run," Annabeth said.

That was all it took. We ran through the jail yard and out the gates of the prison, the monster right behind us. Mortals screamed and ran. Emergency sirens began to wail.

We hit the wharf just as a tour boat was unloading. The new group of visitors froze as they saw us charging toward them, followed by a mob of frightened tourists, followed by… whatever they saw through the Mist.

"The boat?" Grover asked.

"Too slow," Tyson said. "Back into the maze. Only chance."

"We need a diversion," Annabeth said.

Tyson ripped a metal lamppost out of the ground. "I will distract Kampệ. You run ahead."

"I'll help you," Percy said.

"No," Tyson said. "You go. Poison will hurt Cyclopes. A lot of pain. But it won't kill."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Go, friends. I will meet you inside."

I hated the idea. We had almost lost Tyson before, and I didn't want to risk it again. I think Percy hated it more, though. But there was no time to argue, and I had no better idea. Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and I each took one of Briares' hands and dragged him toward the concession stands while Tyson bellowed, lowering his pole, and charged Kampệ like a jousting knight.

She'd been glaring at Briares, but Tyson got her attention as soon as he nailed her in the chest with the pole, pushing her back into the wall. She shrieked and slashed with her swords, slicing the pole to shreds. Poison dripped in pools all around her, sizzling into the cement.

Tyson jumped back as Kampệ's hair lashed and hissed, and the vipers around her legs darted their tongues in every direction. A lion popped out of the weird half-formed faces around her waist and roared.

As we sprinted for the cell blocks, the last thing I saw was Tyson picking up a Dippin' Dots stand and throwing it at Kampệ. Ice cream and poison exploded everywhere, all the little snakes in Kampệ's hair dotted with tutti-frutti. We dashed back into the jail yard.

"Can't make it," Briares huffed.

"Tyson is risking his life to help you!" I yelled at him. "You _will _make it, or I'll personally send you back to Tartarus myself!"

As we reached the door of the cellblock, I heard as angry roar. I glanced back and saw Tyson running toward us as fast as he could, with Kampệ right behind him. She was plastered in ice cream and T-shirts. One of the bear heads on her waist was now wearing a pair of crooked plastic Alcatraz sunglasses. Despite myself, I smiled.

"Hurry!" Annabeth yelled, like we needed to be told that.

We finally found the cell we'd come through, but the back wall was completely smooth—no sign of a boulder or anything.

"Look for the mark!" Annabeth said.

My eyes scanned the wall. "There!" Grover touched a tiny scratch, and it became a Greek ∆. The mark of Daedalus glowed blue, and the stone wall grinded open.

Too slowly. Tyson was coming through the cellblock, Kampệ's swords lashing out behind him, slicing indiscriminately through cell bars and stone walls.

Percy pushed Briares inside the maze, then Annabeth and Grover. He was about to push me in but I gave him a glare that made him stop.

"You can do it!" He told Tyson. But I knew he couldn't. Kampệ was gaining. She raised her swords. We needed a distraction—something big. Percy slapped his wristwatch and it spiraled into a bronze shield. Desperately he threw it at the monster's face the same time I blasted Kampệ with ice.

SMACK! The shield hit her in the face along with a blast of ice and she faltered long enough for Tyson to dive past us into the maze. Percy pushed me in right behind him, and Percy was right behind me.

Kampệ charged, but she was too late. The stone door closed and its magic sealed us in. I could feel the whole tunnel shake as Kampệ pounded against it, roaring furiously. We didn't stick around. We raced into the darkness.

**Hey, thanks for reading. I decided to give you an extra chapter because I missed the deadlines I gave myself as soon as I set them.**

**Remember I try to update on Tuesdays and Fridays.**

**Tuesdays and Fridays, ya'll.**

**Please Review!**


	7. Chapter VII

_**Chapter VII**_

**Katya**

We finally stopped in a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed with a slippery stone walkway. Around us, on all four wall, water tumbled from huge pipes. The water spilled down into the pit, and even when I shined a light, I couldn't see the bottom.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. "This pit goes straight to Tartarus," he murmured. "I should jump in and save you trouble."

"Don't talk that way," Annabeth said. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"I have nothing to offer," Briares said. "I have lost everything."

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must still stand tall as mountains! WE can take you to them."

Briares' expression morphed into something even sadder: his grieving face. "They are no more. They faded."

The waterfalls thundered. Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye.

"What exactly do you mean, _they faded?_" Percy asked. "I thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

"Percy," Grover said weakly, "even immortality has limits. Sometimes… sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

Looking at Grover's face, I wondered if he was thinking of Pan. I remembered something Medusa had told us once: how her sisters, the other two gorgons, had passed on and left her alone. Then last year Apollo said something about the old god Helios disappearing and leaving him with the duties of the sun god. I'd never thought about it too much, but now, looking at Briares, I realized it would be to be so old—thousands and thousands of years old—and totally alone. I wondered if that's what Ra felt.

"I must go," Briares said.

"Kronos' army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."

Briares hung his head. "I cannot, Cyclops."

"You are strong."

"Not anymore." Briares rose.

"Hey." Percy pulled him to the side, where the roar of the waterfalls drowned out their words. I didn't bother to try and listen in.

After a few minutes, Briares turned and trudged off.

Tyson sobbed.

"It's okay." Grover said and hesitantly patted his shoulder.

Tyson sneezed. "It is not okay, goat boy. He was my hero."

That sentence just about broke my heart. I wanted to help Tyson, but I didn't know what to say.

Finally Annabeth shouldered her backpack. "Come on, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

We settled in a corridor made of huge marble blocks. It looked like it could've been part of a Greek tomb, with bronze torch holders fastened to the walls. It had to be part of an older bit of the maze, and Annabeth decided it was a good sign.

"We must be close to Daedalus' workshop," she said. "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going in the morning."

"How do we know when it's morning?" Grover asked.

"Just rest," she insisted.

Grover didn't need to be told twice. He pulled a heap of straw out of his pack, ate some of it, made a pillow out of the rest, and was snoring in no time. Tyson took longer to get to sleep. He tinkered with some metal scraps from his building kit for a while for a while, but whatever he was making never seemed to please him. He kept disassembling the pieces.

"I'm sorry I lost the shield," Percy told him. "You worked so hard to repair it."

Tyson looked up. His eye was bloodshot from crying. "Do not worry, brother. You saved me. You wouldn't have had to if Briares had helped."

"He was just scared," Percy said. "I'm sure he'll get over it."

"He is not strong," Tyson said. "He is not important anymore."

He heaved a big sad sigh, then closed his eye. The metal pieces fell out of his hand, still unassembled, and Tyson began to snore.

I walked over to where Annabeth was sitting, keeping watch.

"You should get some sleep, you're the quest leader."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried," she gave me a doubtful look but didn't protest. She carried her bedroll over to the middle of the corridor and lay down, immediately going to sleep.

I sat there for what seemed like hours. Nothing came.

Percy picked up his bedroll and moved it next to mine.

**Percy**

"You should sleep," she said.

"Can't. You doing all right?"

"Sure. I'm good. It's Tyson and Annabeth I'm worried about."

She ran her hand through her long brown hair.

"I'm worried about you," I said.

"Why would you be worried about me?" She asked. "I'm fine."

"No," I insisted. "You aren't. You disappear for a day, and when we find you, you're in a hole with you head cracked open.

"It was nothing," she insisted.

"It was not nothing. Something happened that day, something in your past."

She let out a sigh. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"Well, if you don't mind," I said.

"I guess it would be a relief to tell somebody. I've never told anybody before."

My heart swelled, she was trusting me with something she didn't trust anyone else with.

"When I was six, I lived in Los Angeles, with my dad. In a big old Victorian house. We were happy. One night my dad made peach cobbler, his specialty, when someone started banging on the door," she told me the rest of the story. She made it to the part where her dad pushed her in the kitchen cupboard when tears slipped silently out of her ice blue eyes.

She finished the story and she leant her head on the wall. I had no idea what to say, so I pulled her into a hug. Without thinking about it, I just let her cry on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Snowflake," I told her. "I couldn't imagine…."

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "So, what's the prophesy, I never heard it."

I recited the prophesy for her, "You shall dwell in the darkness of the endless maze, The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise, One shall fall lost within her own power, Not one could find her even if it is the earth they scour, You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand, The child of Athena's final stand, Destroy with a hero's final breath… Annabeth wouldn't tell us the last line." I told her. She didn't say anything. I worried though, I had a terrible feeling that she was the one who would be lost within her own power. I didn't know if it meant she would turn to Kronos' side, or be killed by her powers. I didn't know which one was worse.

"You should sleep," I told her after she stopped crying. "I'll watch."

She nodded silently and curled up on her bedroll. I watched her breathing slow as she drifted into sleep. I leant my head back against the wall and let out a long deep sigh.

**Katya**

There was no morning in the maze, but once everyone woke up and had a delicious breakfast of granola bars and juice boxes, we kept traveling.

The old stone tunnels changed to dirt with cedar beams, like a gold mine or something. Annabeth started getting agitated.

"This isn't right," she said. "It should still be stone."

We came to a cave where stalactites hung low from the ceiling. In the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave.

Grover shivered. "It smells like the Underworld in here."

Then I saw something glinting at the edge of the pit—a foil wrapper. I shined my flashlight into the hole and saw a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

"Nico," Percy said. "He was summoning the dead again."

"With happy meals?" I asked.

Tyson whimpered. "Ghosts were here. I don't like ghosts."

"We've got to find him." Percy said urgently. We couldn't let him wander around down here, alone except for the dead. I started to run.

"Katya! Percy!" Annabeth called. Percy was right beside me.

We ducked into a tunnel and saw light up ahead. By the time Annabeth, Tyson and Grover caught up with us, we were staring at daylight streaming through a set of bars above my head. We were under a steel grate made out of metal pipes. I could see treed and blue sky.

"Where are we?" I wondered.

Then a shadow fell across the grate and a cow stared down at us. It looked like a normal cow except it was a weird color—bright red, like a cherry. I didn't know cows came in that color.

The cow mooed, put one hoof tentatively on the bars, then backed away.

"It's a cattle guard," Grover said.

"A what?" Percy asked.

"They put them at the gates of ranches so cows can't get out. They can't walk on them."

"How do you know that?" Percy asked.

Grover huffed indignantly. "Believve me, if _you _had hooves, you'd know about cattle guards. They're annoying!"

I turned to Annabeth. "Didn't Hera say something about a ranch? We need to check it out. Nico could be there."

She hesitated. "All right. But how do we get out?"

Tyson solved that problem by hitting the cattle guard with both hands. It popped off and went flying out of sight. We heard a CLANG! and a startled _Moo! _Tyson blushed.

"Sorry, cow!" He called.

Then he gave us a boost out of the tunnel.

The ranch had rolling hills stretching to the horizon, dotted with oak trees, cactus and boulders.A barbed wire fence ran from the gate in either direction Cherry red cows roamed around, grazing on clumps of grass.

"Red cattle," Annabeth said. "The cattle of the sun."

"What?" Percy asked.

"Apollo's cows," I cut in.

"Exactly. But what are they doing—"

"Wait," Grover said. "Listen."

At first everything seemed quiet… but then I heard it: the distant baying of dogs. The sound got louder and my hand instinctively went to my sword/necklace. Then the underbrush rustled, and two dogs broke through. Except it wasn't two. The two heads shared a body. It looked like a greyhound, long and snaky and sleek brown, but its neck made a V as they went toward the shoulders. Both of them were snapping and growling.

"Bad Janus dog!" Tyson cried.

_"Arf!" _Grover told it, and raised a hand in greeting.

The two headed dog bared its teeth, I guess it didn't like what Grover said. Then its master lumbered out of the woods, and I realized the dog was the least of our problems.

My necklace became a sword. He was a huge guy with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat, and a braided white beard. He was wearing jeans, a _DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS _T-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off so you could see his muscles. On his right bicep was crossed swords tattoo. He held a wooden club about the size of a nuclear warhead with six-inch spikes bristling at the business end.

"Heel, Orthus," he told the dog.

The dog growled at us once more, just to make his feelings known, then circled back to his master's feet. The man looked at us up and down, keeping his club ready.

"What've we got here?" He asked. "Cattle rustlers?"

"Just travelers," Annabeth said. "We're on a quest."

The man's eye twitched. "Half-Bloods, eh?"

Percy started to say, "How did you know—"

Annabeth punched his arm. "I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena. This is Percy, son of Poseidon. Grover the satyr. Tyson the—"

"Cyclops," the man finished. "Yes, I can see that." He glowered at me. "What about this one?"

"Katya Kane, daughter of Khione."

"I know half-bloods because I _am _one, buttercup. I'm—"

"Don't you ever call me Buttercup," I growled. "Not ever. Unless you want my sword through your heart."

"Alright. It's just a name. I'm Eurytion, the cowherd for this here ranch. Son of Ares. You came through the Labyrinth like the other one, I reckon."

"The other one?" Percy asked. "You mean Nico di Angelo?"

"We get a load of visitors from the Labyrinth," Eurytion said darkly. "Not many ever leave."

"Wow," Percy said. "I feel welcome."

The cowherd glanced behind him like someone was watching. Then he lowered his voice. "I'm only going to say this once, demigods. Get back in the maze now. Before it's too late."

"We're not leaving," Annabeth insisted. "Not until we see this other demigod. Please."

Eurytion grunted. "Then you leave me no, choice, missy. I've got to take you to see the boss."

I didn't put my sword away. We didn't seem like hostages, Eurytion walked among us and kept Orthus under control. But I didn't like the sound of this _boss. _We walked down a dirt path that seemed to go on forever. It must've been close to a hundred degrees, which was a shock after San Francisco. Heat shimmered off the ground. Insects buzzed in the trees. Before we'd gone very far, I felt exhausted. Heat drained me. Flies swarmed us. Every so often we'd see a pen full of red cows or even stranger animals. Once we passed a corral where the fence was coated in asbestos. Inside, a herd of fire breathing horses milled around. The hay in their feeding trough was on fire. The ground smoked around their feet, but the horses seemed tame enough. One big stallion looked at us and whinnied, columns of red flame billowed out his nostrils.

"What are _they _for?" Percy asked.

Eurytion scowled. "We raise animals for lots of clients. Apollo, Diomedes, and… others."

"Like who?"

"No more questions."

Finally we came out of the woods. Perched on a hill above us was a big ranch house—all white stone and wood and big windows.

"It looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright!" Annabeth said.

I guess she was talking about architecture, because I was completely lost. To me it just looked like a death trap. We hiked up the hill.

"Don't break the rules," Eurytion warned as we walked up the steps to the front porch. "No fighting. No drawing weapons, so put that away," He pointed at my sword. "And don't make any comments on the boss' appearance."

"Why?" Percy asked. "What does he look like?"

Before Eurytion could reply, a new voice said, "Welcome to Triple G Ranch."

The man on the porch had a normal head, his face was weathered and brown from years in the sun. He had slick black hair and a black pencil moustache like villains have in old movies. He smiled at us, but the smile wasn't friendly; more amused, like _You've come just in time to be my dinner._

He had three bodies. Now, you'd think I was used to all the weird anatomy after Janus, Briares, and Kampệ, but this was three complete people.

Eurytion nudged me. "Say hello to Mr. Geryon."

"Hi," Percy said. "Nice chests—uh, ranch! Nice ranch you have." I rolled my eyes, I should not have let Percy do the talking.

Before the three-bodied man could respond, Nico di Angelo came out of the glass doors onto the porch. "Geryon, I won't wait for—"

He froze when he saw us. Then he drew his sword. It was short, sharp, and dark as midnight.

Geryon snarled when he saw it. "Put that away, Mr. di Angelo. I ain't gonna have my guests killin' each other."

"But that's—"

"Percy Jackson," Geryon supplied. "Annabeth Chase, Katya Kane. And a couple of their monster friends. Yes, I know."

"Monster friends?" Grover said indignantly.

"That man is wearing three shirts," Tyson said, as if he was just realizing it.

"They let my sister die!" Nico's voice trembled with rage. "They're here to kill me!"

"Nico, we're not here to kill you, and we aren't going to," I said softly.

"Yeah, what happened to Bianca—"

"Don't speak her name!" Nico interrupted Percy. "You're not worthy to even talk about her!"

"Wait a minute," Annabeth pointed at Geryon. "How do you know our names?"

The three-bodied man winked. "I make it my business to keep informed, darlin'. Everybody pops into the ranch from time to time. Everyone needs something from ole Geryon. Now, Mr. di Angelo, put that ugly sword away before I have Eurytion take it from you."

Eurytion sighed, but he hefted his spiked club. At his feet, Orthus growled.

Nico hesitated. He looked thin and pale. I wondered if he'd eaten in the last week. His black clothes were dusty from traveling in the Labyrinth, and his dark eyes were full of hate. He was too young to look as angry. I still remembered him as the cheerful little kid who played with Mythomagic cards. The kid who reminded me so much of Felix.

The thought of Felix made my heart clench with guilt. I had told him I would see him later. Now, I might die on this quest and I would never see him again. I would never see any of Brooklyn House again.

"If you come near me, Percy, I'll summon help. You don't want to meet my helpers, I promise."

"I believe you," Percy said. The look in his eyes matched what I felt. Guilt.

Geryon patted Nico's shoulder. "There, we've all made nice. Now come along, folks. I want to give you a tour of the ranch."

Geryon had a trolley—like one of those kiddie trains at zoos. It was painted black and white in a cowhide pattern. The driver's car had a set of longhorns stuck to the hood, and the horn sounded like a cowbell.

Nico sat in the very back, probably so he could keep an eye on us. Eurytion crawled in next to him with his spiked club and pulled his cowboy hat over his eyes like he was going to take a nap. Orthus jumped in the front seat next to Geryon and began barking happily in two-part harmony.

Annabeth, Percy, Tyson, Grover, and I took the middle two cars.

"We have a huge operation!" Geryon boasted as the train lurched forward. "Horses and cattle mostly, but all sorts of exotic varieties, too."

We came over a hill, and Annabeth gasped. "Hippalektryons? I thought they were extinct!"

At the bottom of the hill was a fenced-in pasture with a dozen of the weirdest animals I had ever seen. Each had the front half of a horse and the back half of a rooster. Their rear feet were huge yellow claws. They had feathery tails and red wings. As I watched, two of them got in a fight over a pile of seed. They reared up on their hind legs and whinnied and flapped their wings at each other until the smaller one galloped away, its rear bird legs putting a little hop in its step.

"Rooster ponies," Tyson said in amazement. "Do they lay eggs?"

"Once a year!" Geryon grinned in the rearview mirror. "Very much in demand for omelets!"

"That's horrible!" Annabeth said. "They must be an endangered species!"

Geryon waved his hand. "Gold is gold, darling. And you haven't tasted the omelets."

"That's not right," Grover murmured, but Geryon just kept narrating the tour.

"Now, over here," he said, "we have our fire-breathing horses, which you may have seen on your way in. They're bred for war, naturally."

"What war?" I asked.

Geryon grinned slyly. "Oh, whichever one comes along. And over yonder, of course, are our prize red cows."

Sure enough, hundreds of the cherry-colored cattle were grazing the side of a hill.

"So many," Grover said.

"Yes, well, Apollo is too busy to see to them," Geryon explained, "so he subcontracts us. We breed the vigorously because there's such a demand."

"For what?" I asked.

Geryon raised an eyebrow. "Meat, of course! Armies have to eat."

"You kill the sacred cows of the sun god for hamburger meat?" Grover said. "That's against the ancient laws!"

"Oh, don't get so worked up, satyr. They're just animals.

"Just animals!"

"Yes, and if Apollo cared, I'm sure he would tell us."

"If he knew," Percy muttered beside me.

Nico sat forward. "I don't care about any of this, Geryon. We had business to discuss, and this wasn't it!"

"All in good time, Mr. di Angelo. Look over here; some of my exotic game."

The next field was ringed with barbed wire. The whole area was crawling with giant scorpions.

"Triple G Ranch," Percy said, a look of recognition in his eyes. "Your mark was on the crates at camp. Quintus got his scorpions from you."

"Quintus…" Geryon mused. "Short gray hair, muscular, swordsman?'

"Yeah."

"Never heard of him," Geryon said. "Now, over here are my prize stables! You must see them."

We smelled them before we saw them. Near the banks of a green river was a horse corral the size of a football field. Stables lined one side of it. About a hundred horses were milling around in the horse manure. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. The horses were filthy from wading through it, and the stables were just as bad. It reeked like you wouldn't believe.

Even Nico gagged. "What _is _that?"

I bent over the side of the railing and retched, multiple times. I emptied my stomach on the grass. I could only stop when we passed it and the smell was gone. I sat up and swished water in my mouth.

Geryon nodded. I had a feeling I had missed something important. "I'm going to take you friends with me, back to the lodge. We'll meet you there."

Eurytion whistled and the dog jumped off Percy and onto Annabeth. She yelped.

Percy got out of the car and locked eyes with me.

"Do what you got to do," I said.

"I'll try."

Geryon got behind the driver's wheel. Eurytion hauled Nico into the backseat.

"Sunset," Geryon reminded Percy. "No later."

He laughed at us once more, sounded his cowbell horn, and the train rumbled off towards the lodge.

Annabeth explained to me what I had missed. Our freedom depended on Percy cleaning those stables

**Thank you all for reading, commenting, etc. Please review!**

**My Wattpad account is TheParselmouth, just so you know. I like it when stories are on Wattpad and , because the website works better than the app on and the app works better on Wattpad. In my humble opinion.**


	8. Chapter VIII

_**Chapter VIII**_

**Katya**

We were tied up, gagged, and tossed in a corner, and I was mad, because Geryon was making barbecue and I wanted some.

We sat there all day, in the hundred-degree heat, piled together in each other's sweatiness.

Then Percy came running up, and I had never been so happy to see him, even if he was covered in manure.

"Let them go!" He yelled. "I cleaned the stables!"

"Did you, now?" Geryon said. "How'd you manage it?"

Percy told him, how he used the old sea shells as fountains.

"Very ingenious. It would've been better if you'd poisoned that pesky naiad, but no matter."

"Let my friends go," Percy said. "We had a deal."

"Ah, I've been thinking about that. The problem is, if I let them go, I don't get paid."

"You promised!"

Geryon made a _tsk-tsk _noise. "But did you make me swear on the River Styx? No you didn't. So it's not binding. When you're conducting business, sonny, you should always get a binding oath."

Percy drew his sword. Orthus growled. One head leaned down next to my ear and bared his fangs.

"Eurytion," Geryon said, "the boy is staring to annoy me. Kill him."

Eurytion studied him. I didn't like Percy's odds against that club.

"Kill him yourself," Eurytion said.

Geryon raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Eurytion grumbled. "You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason, and I'm tired of dying for you. You want to fight the kid, do it yourself."

Geryon threw down his spatula. "You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!"

"And who'd take care of your cattle? Orthus, heel."

The dog immediately stopped growling at me and came to sit by the cowherd's feet.

"Fine!" Geryon snarled. "I'll deal with you later, after the boy is dead!"

He picked up two carving knives and threw them at Percy. He deflected one with his sword. The other impaled itself in the picnic table an inch from Eurytion's hand.

Percy went on attack. Geryon parried his first strike with a pair of red-hot tongs and lunged at his face with a barbecue fork. Percy got inside his next thrust and stabbed him right through the middle chest.

"Aghhh!" He crumpled to his knees. Percy waited for him to disintegrate, the way monsters usually do. But instead he just grimaced and began to stand up. The wound in his chef's apron started to heal.

I wiggled my mouth so that the gag came off. "You have to get all three at the same time!" I yelled.

Geryon tipped over the barbecue, and coals spilled everywhere. One landed next to Annabeth's and she let out a little scream. I wasn't so lucky, one hit me square on the cheek. I wiggled until my face moved out from under it. Tyson strained against his bonds, but even his strength wasn't enough to break them.

Percy jabbed Geryon in his left chest, but the monster only laughed.

He ran into the house.

"Coward!" Geryon cried. "Come back and die right!"

Geryon threw his barbecue fork, and it thudded into the wall.

"Your head's gonna go right there, Jackson! Next to the grizzly bear!"

I couldn't hear anything after that until Geryon laughed, "You fool! One arrow is no better than one sword."

We were doomed, Percy is the worst archery shot in the world.

At least I thought we were until Percy strolled out of the house and untied us.

"Yay for Percy!" Tyson said.

"Can we tie up this cowherd now?" Nico asked.

"Yeah!" Grover agreed. "And that dog almost killed me."

We looked toward Eurytion, who was still sitting relaxed at the picnic table. Orthus had both his heads on the cowherd's knees.

"How long will it take Geryon to re-form?" Percy asked him.

Eurytion shrugged. "Hundred years? He's not one of those fast re-formers, thank the gods. You've done me a favor."

"You said you'd died for him before," I remembered. "How?"

"I've worked for that creep for thousands of years. Started as a regular half-blood, but I chose immortality when my dad offered it. Worst mistake I ever made. Now I'm stuck here at this ranch. I can't leave. I can't quit. I just tend the cows and fight Geryon's fights. We're kinda tied together."

"Maybe you can change things," I said.

Eurytion narrowed his eyes. "How?"

"Be nice to the animals. Take care of them. Stop selling them for food. And stop dealing with the Titans," Percy said.

Eurytion thought about that. "That'd be all right."

"Get the animals on your side, and they'll help you. Once Geryon gets back, maybe he'll be working for you this time."

Eurytion grinned. "Now, _that _I could live with."

"You won't try to stop us leaving?"

"Shoot, no."

Annabeth rubbed her bruised wrists. She was still looking as Eurytion suspiciously. "Your boss said that somebody paid for our safe passage. Who?"

The cowherd shrugged. "Maybe he was just saying that to fool you."

"What about the Titans?" I asked. "Did you Iris-message them about Nico yet?"

"Nope. Geryon was waiting until after the barbecue. They don't know anything about him."

Nico was glaring at Percy. I wasn't sure what to do with him. I doubt he would want to come with us, but we couldn't just let him roam around on his own.

"You could stay here until we're done with our quest," Percy told him. "It would be safe."

_"Safe?" _Nico said. "What do you care if I'm safe? You got my sister killed!"

"Nico," I said. "That wasn't our fault. And Geryon wasn't lying about Kronos wanting to capture you. If he knew who you were, he'd do anything to get you on his side."

"I'm not on anyone's side. And I'm not afraid!"

"You should be," Annabeth said. "Your sister wouldn't want—"

"If you cared for my sister, you'd help me bring her back!"

"A soul for a soul?" Percy asked.

"Yes!"

"But if you didn't want my soul—"

"I'm not explaining anything to you!" He blinked tears out of his eyes. "And I _will _bring her back."

"Bianca wouldn't want to be brought back," I said. "Not like that."

"You didn't know her!" He shouted. "How do you know what she'd want?"

"Because she told me!" I raised my voice. "One night, around the camp fire, everyone else had gone to bed. She asked me, 'What's it like, when you're about to die?' I told her what it felt like, you panic for a moment, and then you accept it. You accept that you aren't a part of the living world anymore. She wouldn't want to be ripped away."

"You don't know that! You've never died!" Nico yelled. I looked at him with serious eyes and his anger seemed to slip away.

"You've been to the land of the dead, more than once, dozens of times," he realized.

I nodded. "If you don't believe, let's ask Bianca."

"I've tried," Nico said miserably. "She won't answer."

"Try again. I've got a feeling she'll answer with us here," Percy said.

"Why would she?"

"Because she's been sending me Iris messages," Percy said. "She's trying to warn me what you're up to, so I can protect you."

Nico shook his head. "That's impossible."

"One way to find out. You said you're not afraid." Percy turned to Eurytion. "We're going to need a pit, like a grave. And food and drinks."

"Percy," Annabeth warned. "I don't think this is a good—"

"All right," Nico said. "I'll try."

Eurytion scratched his beard. "There's a hole dug out back for a septic tank. We could use that. Cyclops boy, fetch my ice chest from the kitchen. I hope the dead like root beer."

**So I was thinking of writing a Percy Jackson and Harry Potter crossover. I was thinking about it being a JasonxOC. So my character, Anya (I just adore names that end in -ya,) would be the daughter of Vesta (Roman version of Hestia), born from the ashes of Olympus' hearth and Sirius Black (like what Athena does). I have most of it planned out, tell me what you think.**

**I was also thinking of deleting my other fanfiction that's going absolutely nowhere. "Marked" is a Harry Potter fanfic about the daughter of Voldemort (but she's good)****. I honestly don't know what to do with that. I have everything planned out I just have no motivation to write.**

**Please give me your feedback on both of these propositions, I would love it and it would make my decision easier.**


	9. Chapter IX

_**Chapter IX**_

**Katya**

We did our summons after dark, at a twenty-foot long pit in front of the septic tank. The tank was bright yellow, with a smiley face and red words painted on the side: _HAPPY FLUSH DISPOSAL CO. _It didn't quite go with the solemn mood.

The moon was full. Silver clouds drifted across the sky.

"Minos should be here by now," Nico said, frowning. "It's full dark."

"Maybe he got lost," Percy said hopefully.

Nico poured root beer and tossed barbecue into the pit, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. Immediately, the bugs in the woods stopped chirping.

"Make him stop," Tyson whimpered.

Part of me agreed. This was unnatural. The night air felt menacing. It was cold, but not like the cold that was rejuvenating, the cold that bit playfully at the end of your nose and carried snowflakes gently to the ground.

The first spirit appeared. Suforous mist seeped out of the ground. Shadows thickened into human forms. One blue shade drifted to the edge of the pit and knelt to drink.

"Stop him!" Nico said, momentarily breaking his chant. "Only Bianca can drink!"

I drew my sword. The ghosts retreated with a collective hiss at the sight of my celestial bronze blade. But it was too late to stop the first spirit. He had already solidified into the shape of a bearded man in white robes. A circlet of gold wreathed his head and even in death his eyes were alive with malice.

"Minos!" Nico said. "What are you doing?"

"My apologies master," the ghost said, though he didn't sound very sorry. "The sacrifice smelled so good, I couldn't resist." He examined his own hands and smiled. "It is good to see myself again. Almost in solid form—"

"You are disrupting the ritual!" Nico protested. "Get—"

The spirits began shimmering dangerously bright, and Nico had to take up the chant again to keep them at bay.

"Yes, quite right, master," Minos said with amusement. "You keep chanting. I've only come to protect you from these _liars _who would deceive you."

He turned to Percy and regarded him as if he were some kind of cockroach. "Percy Jackson…my, my. The sons of Poseidon haven't improved much over the centuries, have they?" He turned to look at me with a gross appreciation in his eyes. "Well, a daughter of Khione. I bet you're a powerful one. The most powerful of them all, perhaps."

"We're looking for Bianca di Angelo," Percy said. "Get lost."

The ghost chuckled. "I understand the two of you once killed my Minotaur with your bare hands. But worse things await you in the maze. Do you really believe Daedalus will help you?"

The other spirits stirred in agitation. Annabeth drew her knife and helped us keep them away from the pit. Grover got so nervous he clung to Tyson's shoulder.

"Daedalus cares nothing for you, half-bloods," Minos warned. "You can't trust him. He is old beyond counting, and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods."

"The guilt of murder?" Percy asked. "Who did he kill?"

"Do not change the subject!" The ghost growled. "You are hindering Nico. You try to persuade him to give up his goal. _I _would make him lord!"

"Enough, Minos," Nico commanded.

The ghost sneered. "Master, these are your enemies. You must not listen to them! Let me protect you. I will turn their minds to madness, as I did the others."

"The others?" Annabeth gasped. "You mean Chris Rodriguez? That was _you_?"

"The maze is my property," the ghost said, "not Daedalus'! Those who intrude deserve madness."

"Be gone, Minos!" Nico demanded. "I want to see my sister."

The ghost bit back his rage. "As you wish, master. But I warn you. You cannot trust these heroes."

With that, he faded into mist.

Other spirits rushed forward, but Annabeth, Percy and I kept them back.

"Bianca, appear!" Nico intoned. He started chanting faster, and the spirits shifted restlessly.

"Any time now," Grover muttered.

Then a silvery light flickered in the trees—a spirit that seemed brighter and stronger than the others. I came closer, and something told me to let it pass. It knelt to drink at the pit. When it rose, it was the ghostly form of Bianca di Angelo.

Nico's chanting faltered. We lowered our weapons. The other spirits started to crowd forward, but Bianca raised her arms and they retreated into the woods.

"Hello, Percy. Hello, Katya," she said.

I staggered back. She looked the same as she did when she was alive: a green cap set sideways on her thick black hair, dark eyes and olive skin like her brother. She wore jeans and a silvery jacket, the outfit of a Hunter of Artemis. A bow was slung over her shoulder. She smiled faintly, and her whole form flickered.

"Bianca," Percy said. His voice was thick. I'd felt guilty about her death for a long time, but seeing her in front of me was like ten times as bad, like her death was fresh and new. I remembered searching through the wreckage of the giant bronze warrior she'd sacrificed her life to defeat, and not finding any sign of her. I realized I never actually cried over her death, and that made me feel worse.

"I'm so sorry," I said.

"You have nothing to apologize for. I made my own choice. I don't regret it."

"Bianca!" Nico stumbled forward like he was just coming out of a daze.

She turned towards her brother. Her expression was sad, like she'd been dreading this moment. "Hello, Nico. You've gotten so tall."

"Why didn't you answer me sooner?" He cried. "I've been trying for months!"

"I was hoping you would give up."

"Give up?" He sounded heartbroken. "How can you say that? I'm trying to save you!"

"You can't, Nico. Don't do this. Katya and Percy are right."

"No! They let you die! They aren't your friends."

Bianca stretched out her hand as if to touch her brother's face, but she was made of mist. Her hand evaporated as it got close to living skin. They reminded me of Felix and I. And the way Bianca couldn't touch Nico because she was just a spirit that reminded me of the first time I saw my father since he was killed.

I don't know why I was still so upset on the anniversary of his murder. I could see him almost any time I wanted, but I guess that day brought back all the grief I've felt for eight years.

"You must listen to me," Bianca said. "Holding grudges is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw. You have to forgive. You have to promise me this."

"I can't. Never."

"They have been worried about you, Nico. He can help. I let Percy see what you were up to, hoping he would find you."

"So it _was _you," Percy said. "You sent those Iris-messages."

Bianca nodded.

"Why are you helping him and not me?" Nico screamed. "It's not fair!"

"You are close to the truth now," Bianca told him. "It's not Percy you're mad at, Nico. It's me."

"No."

"You're mad because I left you to become a Hunter of Artemis. You're mad because I died and left you alone. I'm sorry for that, Nico. I truly am. But you must overcome the anger. And stop blaming Percy and Katya for my choices. It will be your doom."

"She's right," Annabeth broke in. "Kronos is rising, Nico. He'll twist anyone to his cause."

"I don't care about Kronos," Nico said. "I just want my sister back."

"You can't have that, Nico," Bianca told him gently.

"I'm the son of Hades! I _can_."

"Don't try," she said. "If you love me, don't…"

Her voice trailed off. Spirits had started to gather around us again, and they seemed agitated. Their shadows shifted. Their voices whispered, _Danger!_

"Tartarus stirs," Bianca said. "Your power draws the attention of Kronos. The dead must return to the Underworld. It is not safe for us to remain."

"Wait," Nico said. "Please—"

"Good-bye, Nico," Bianca said. "I love you. Remember what I said."

Her form shivered and the ghosts disappeared, leaving us alone under the cold full moon.

None of us were anxious to travel that night, so we decided to wait until morning. I went into the bathroom and looked at the burn on my face from the coal that fell from the barbecue. I took the towel of the rack and poured cool water on it. The burn was okay, considering a red hot coal fell on my face. But it had black bits of coal dust in it.

I went to work at scraping and washing the black dust out of it. I growled in frustration, I needed to clean this, but the dust wouldn't come out.

Percy walked in and took the towel from me. "You're doing it wrong," was all he said.

I rolled my eyes as he started to gently dab at my cheek, unlike my furious scraping. "How can you do this wrong?"

"By making it worse," he replied.

He finished and put a small amount of paste on the burn then put a large band aid on it. We walked out of the bathroom and to the leather couches we would be sleeping on.

I fell asleep instantly.

The next morning we walked down to the cattle guard and said our goodbyes.

"Nico, you could come with us," Percy blurted out.

He shook his head. I don't think any of us had a good night's sleep in that demon ranch house, but Nico looked worse than the rest of us. His eyes were red and his face was chalky. He was wrapped in a black robe that must've belonged to Geryon, because it was three sizes too big even for a grown man.

"I need time to think." His eyes wouldn't meet ours, but I could tell from his tone he was still angry. The fact that his sister had come out of the Underworld for Percy and I but not him didn't seem to sit well with him.

I hugged him, really tightly, like I would hug Felix. He tried to push me away but I held him tighter and eventually he hugged me back.

"I'm so sorry, I can't express how sorry I am," I whispered.

He pulled away and stormed back to the ranch house.

"I'm worried about him," Annabeth told us. "If he starts talking to Minos' ghost again—"

"He'll be all right," Eurytion promised. The cowherd had cleaned up nicely. He was wearing new jeans and a clean Western shirt and he'd even trimmed his beard. He'd put on Geryon's boots. "The boy can stay here and gather his thoughts as long as he wants. He'll be safe, I promise."

"What about you?" Percy asked.

Eurytion scratched Orthus behind one chin, then the other. "Things are gonna run a little different on this ranch from now on. No more sacred cattle meat. I'm thinking about soybean patties. And I'm going to befriend those flesh-eating horses. Might just sign up for the next rodeo."

"Well, good luck," Percy said.

"Yep." Eurytion spit into the grass. "I reckon you'll be looking for Daedalus' workshop now?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up. "Can you help us?"

Eurytion studied the cattle guard, and I got the feeling the subject of Daedalus' workshop made him uncomfortable. "Don't know where it is. But Hephaestus probably would."

"That's what Hera said," Annabeth agreed. "But how do we find _Hephaustus_?"

Eurytion pulled something from under the collar of his shirt. It was a necklace—a smooth silver disk on a silver chain. The disk had a depression in the middle, like a thumbprint. He handed it to Annabeth.

"Hephaestus comes here from time to time," Eurytion said. "Studies the animals and such so he can make bronze automaton copies. Last time, I—uh—did him a favor. A little trick he wanted to play on my dad, Ares, and Aphrodite. He gave me the chain in gratitude. Said if I ever needed him, the disk would lead me to his forges. But only once."

"And you're giving it to me?" Annabeth asked.

Eurytion blushed. "I don't need to see the forges, miss. Got enough to do here. Just press the button and you'll be on your way."

Annabeth pressed the button and the disk sprang to life. It grew eight metallic legs. Annabeth shrieked and dropped it, much to Eurytion's confusion.

"Spider!" She screamed.

"She's um a little scared of spiders," Grover explained. "That old grudge between Athena and Arachne."

"Oh." Eurytion looked embarrassed. "Sorry, miss."

The spider scrambled to the cattle guard and disappeared between the bars.

"Hurry," I said. "That thing isn't going to wait for us."

Annabeth wasn't anxious to follow, but we didn't have much choice. We said our goodbyes to Eurytion, Tyson pulled the cattle guard off the hole, and we dropped back into the maze.

The spider scuttled along the tunnels so fast, most of the time I couldn't see it. If it hadn't been for Tyson and Grover's excellent hearing, we never would've known which way it was going.

We ran down a marble tunnel, then dashed to the left and almost fell into an abyss. Tyson grabbed Percy and hauled him back before he could fall. The tunnel continued in front of us, but there was no floor for about a hundred feet, just gaping darkness and a series of iron rungs in the ceiling. The mechanical spider was about halfway across, swinging from bar to bar by shooting metal web fiber.

"Monkey bars," Annabeth said. "I'm great at these."

She leapt onto the first rung and started swinging her way across. She was scared of tiny spiders, but not of plummeting to her death from a set of monkey bars.

I followed after her. When I got across I looked back to see Percy crossing and Tyson giving Grover a piggyback ride behind him. Tyson made it across in three swings, which was a good thing since, just as he landed, the last iron bar ripped free under his weight.

We kept moving and passed a skeleton crumpled in the tunnel. It wore the remains of a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie. The spider didn't slow down.

The tunnel opened up into a large room. A blazing light hit us. Once my eyes adjusted, the first thing I noticed were the skeletons. Dozens littered the floor around us. Some were old and bleached white. Others were more recent and a lot worse. They didn't smell quite as bad as Geryon's stables, but almost. I was lucky I didn't retch like last time.

Then I saw the sphinx. She stood on a glittery dais on the opposite side of the room. She had the body of a huge lion and the head of a woman. She would've been pretty, but her hair was pulled in a tight bun and she wore too much makeup. She had a blue ribbon pinned to her chest that took me a moment to read: _THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED __**EXEMPLARY! **_

Tyson whimpered. "Sphinx."

Spotlights blazed on either side of the creature. The only exit was a tunnel right behind the dais. The mechanical spider scuttled between the Sphinx's paws and disappeared.

Annabeth started forward, but the Sphinx roared, showing fangs in her otherwise human face. Bars came down on both tunnels, behind us and in front.

Immediately the monster's snarl turned into a brilliant smile.

"Welcome, lucky contestants!" She announced. "Get ready to play… ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!"

Canned applause blasted from the ceiling, as if there were invisible loudspeakers. Spotlights swept across the room and reflected off the dais, throwing disco glitter over the skeletons on the floor.

"Fabulous prizes!" The Sphinx said. "Pass the test, and you get to advance! Fail, and I get to eat you! Who will be our contestant?"

Annabeth grabbed my arm. "I've got this," she whispered. "I know what she's going to ask."

I was about to argue, you couldn't rely on the Sphinx asking the same riddle that she's done forever. I ran into a Sphinx once that asked me random riddles and trivia facts.

Annabeth stepped forward to the contestant's podium, which had a skeleton in a school uniform hunched over it. She pushed the skeleton away, and it clattered to the floor.

"Sorry," Annabeth told it.

"Welcome, Annabeth Chase!" The monster cried, though Annabeth hadn't said her last name. "Are you ready for your test?"

"Yes," she said. "Ask you riddle."

"Twenty riddles, actually!" The Sphinx said gleefully.

"What? But back in the old days—"

"Oh, we've raised our standards! To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty. Isn't that great?"

Applause switched on and off.

Annabeth glanced at me nervously. I gave her an encouraging nod.

"Okay," she told the Sphinx. "I'm ready."

A drumroll sounded. The Sphinx' eyes glittered with excitement. "What… is the capital of Bulgaria?"

Annabeth frowned. "Sofia," she said, "but—"

"Correct! Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a number 2 pencil."

"What?" Annabeth looked mystified. Then a test booklet appeared on the podium in front of her, along with a sharpened pencil.

"Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle," the Sphinx said. "If you have to erase, erase completely or the machine will not be able to read your answers."

"What machine?" Annabeth asked.

The Sphinx pointed with her paw. Over by the spotlight was a bronze box with a lot of gears and levers and a big Greek letter Êta on the side, the mark of Hephaestus.

"Now," said the Sphinx, "next question—"

"Wait a second," Annabeth protested.

"Hold on," I said. "If this game is Answer That Riddle, and you're just asking trivia facts, the game isn't properly named," I interrupted whatever Annabeth was going to say. I knew she was going to get herself (and possibly all of us) into trouble.

"Would you like to take Annabeth Chase's place?" The Sphinx asked, but it didn't sound like a question. "I will ask you one real riddle."

Annabeth was launched from the podium and I was pushed on it instead. I looked panicked back at Annabeth. She mouthed the word _man_.

"I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball. What am I?" The Sphinx asked.

"You're a Sphinx," I said.

"What? That is not right!" The Sphinx yelled.

"Yes it is. You are a Sphinx. You asked 'What am I?' I just answered the question."

The Sphinx huffed. "Alright," she said. "You may pass."

The bars that blocked of our path vanished and we ran out of them. I turned back and stabbed the Sphinx in the back. She burst into golden dust.

We ran through the dark tunnels; listening to the canned 'aww' play repeatedly.

**Can anyone tell me the answer to the riddle? All who answer will get a shout out in the next chapter! Please read my new Harry Potter and Percy Jackson Crossover, and please review.**

** Love y'all, Royal Flush**


	10. Chapter X

_**Chapter X**_

__I thought we'd lost the spider until Tyson heard a faint pinging sound. We made a few turns, backtracked a few times, and eventually found the spider banging its tiny head on a metal door.

The door looked like one of those old-fashioned submarine hatches. Where the portal would have been was a big brass plaque, green with age, with a Greek Êta inscribed in the middle.

We all looked at eachother.

"Ready to meet Hephaestus?" Grover said nervously.

"No," Percy admitted.

"Yes!" Tyson said gleefully, and he turned the wheel.

As soon as the door opened, the spider scuttled inside with Tyson right behind it. The rest of us followed, not quite as anxious.

The room was like a mechanic's garage, with several hydraulic lifts. Some had cars on them, but others had even weirder things: a bronze hippalektryon with its horse head off and a bunch of wires hanging out of its roster tail, a metal lion that seemed to be hooked up to a battery charger, and a Greek war chariot made entirely of flames.

Smaller projects cluttered a doze worktables. Tools hung along the walls. Each had its own outline on a Peg-Board, but nothing seemed to be in the right place. The hammer was over the screwdriver place. The staple gun was where the hacksaw was supposed to go.

Under the closest hydraulic lift, which was holding a '98 Toyota Carolla, a pair of legs stuck out—the lower half of a huge man in grubby gray pants and shoes even bigger than Tyson's. One leg was in a metal brace.

The spider scuttled under the car, and the sounds of banging stopped.

"Well, well," a deep voice boomed from under the Corolla. "What have we here?"

The mechanic pushed out on a black trolley and sat up, I'd seen Hephaestus once before, briefly on Olympus, so I thought I was prepared. And usually I didn't even register how pretty someone is. But his appearance made me gulp.

He'd cleaned up when he'd been on Olympus, but now in his own workshop, he didn't seem to care. He wore a jumpsuit smeared with dirt and oil. _Hephaestus _was embroidered over the chest pocket. His leg creaked and clicked in its metal brace as he stood, and his left shoulder was lower than his right, so he seemed to be leaning even when he was standing up. He wore a permanent scowl. His head was misshapen and bulging. His black beard smoked and hissed. Every once in a while a small flame would erupt in his whiskers then die out. His hands were the size of catcher's mitts, but he handled the spider with amazing skill. He disassembled it in two seconds, then put it back together.

"There," he muttered to himself. "Much better."

The spider did a happy flip in his palm, shot a metallic web at the ceiling, and went swinging away.

Hephaestus glowered at us. "I didn't make you, did I?"

"Uh," Annabeth said, "no, sir."

"Good," the god grumbled. "Shoddy workmanship."

He studied us. "Half-bloods," he grunted. "Could be automatons, of course, but probably not."

"We've met, sir," Percy told him.

"Have we?" The god asked absently. I got the feeling he didn't care one way or another. "Well then, if I didn't smash you to a pulp the first time we met, I suppose I won't have to do it now."

He looked at Grover and frowned. "Satyr." Then he looked at Tyson, and his eyes twinkled. "Well, a Cyclops. Good, good. What are you doing traveling with this lot?"

"Uh…" Tyson said, staring in wonder at the god.

"Yes, well said," Hephaestus agreed. "So, there'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me. The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter, you know."

"Sir," Annabeth said hesitantly, "we're looking for Daedalus. We thought—"

_"Daedalus?" _the god roared. "You want that old scoundrel? You dare seek him out!"

His beard burst into flames and his black eyes glowed.

"Uh, yes, sir, please," Annabeth said.

"Humph. You're wasting your time." He frowned at something on his worktable and limped over to it. He picked up a lump of springs and metal plates and tinkered with them. In a few seconds he was holding a bronze and silver falcon. It spread its metal wings, blinked its obsidian eyes, and flew around the room.

Tyson laughed and clapped his hands. The bird landed on Tyson's shoulder and nipped his ear affectionately.

Hephaestus regarded him. The god's scowl didn't change, but I thought I saw a kinder twinkle in his eyes. "I sense you have something to tell me, Cyclops."

Tyson's smile faded. "Y-yes, lord. We met a Hundred-Handed One."

Hephaestus nodded, not looking at all surprised. "Briares?"

"Yes. He—he was scared. He would not help us."

"And that bothered you?"

"Yes!" Tyson's voice wavered. "Briares should be strong! He is older and greater than the Cyclops. But he ran away."

Hephaestus grunted. "There was a time I admired the Hundred-Handed Ones. Back in the days of the first war. But people, monsters, even gods change, young Cyclops. You can't trust 'em. Look at my loving mother, Hera. You met her, didn't you? She'll smile to your face and talk about how important family is, eh? Didn't stop her from pitching me off Olympus when she saw my ugly face."

"But I thought Zeus did that to you," Percy said.

Hephaestus cleared his throat and spat into a bronze spittoon. He snapped his fingers, and the robotic falcon flew back to the worktable.

"Mother likes to tell that version of the story," he grumbled. "Makes her seem more likable, doesn't it? Blaming it all on my dad. The truth is, my mother likes families, but she likes a certain kind of family. _Perfect _families. She took one look at me and… well, I don't fit the image, do I?

He pulled a feather from the falcon's back, and the whole automaton fell apart.

"Believe me, young Cyclops," Hephaestus said, "you can't trust others. All you can trust is the work of your own hands."

Seemed like a lonely way to live. Plus, I didn't exactly trust the works of Hephaestus. One time in Denver, his mechanical spiders had almost killed Annabeth and me. And last year, it had been a defective Talos statue that had cost Bianca her life.

He focused on Percy and narrowed his eyes, I was guessing he was thinking the same as I was. "Oh, this one doesn't like me," he mused. "No worries, I'm used to that. What would you ask of me, little demigod?"

"We told you," Percy said. "We need to find Daedalus. There's this guy Luke, and he's working with Kronos. He's trying to find a way to navigate the Labyrinth so he can invade our camp. If we don't get to Daedalus first—"

"And I told _you_, boy. Looking for Daedalus is a waste of time. He won't help you."

"Why not?"

Hephaestus shrugged. "Some of us get thrown off mountainsides. Some of us… the way we learn not to trust people is even more painful. Ask me for gold. Or a flaming sword. Or a magical steed. These I can grant you easily. But a way to Daedalus? That's an expensive favor."

"Then how can we pay it?" I asked.

Hephaestus actually laughed—a booming sound like bellows stoking fire. "You heroes," he said, "always making rash promises. How refreshing!"

He pressed a button on his workbench, and a metal shutters opened along the wall. It was either a huge window or a big-screen TV, I couldn't tell which. We were looking at a gray mountain ringed in forests. It must have been a volcano because smoke rose from its crest.

"One of my forges," Hephaestus said. "I have many, but that used to be my favorite."

"That's Mount St. Helens," Grover said. "Great forests around there."

"You've been there?" Percy asked.

"Looking for…you know. Pan."

"Wait," Annabeth said, looking at Hephaestus. "You said it _used to be _your favorite. What happened?"

Hephaestus scratched his smoldering beard. "Well, that's where the monster Typhon is trapped, you know. Used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount St. Helens always a chance he will escape. Lots of eruptions these days, smoldering all the time. He's restless with the Titan rebellion."

"What do you want us to do?" Percy asked. "Fight him?"

Hephaestus snorted. "That would be suicide. The gads themselves ran from Typhon when he was free. No, pray you never have to see him, much less fight him. But lately I have sensed intruders in my mountain. Someone or something is using my forges. When I go there, it is empty, but I can tell it is being used. They sense me coming, and they disappear. I send my automatons to investigate, but they do not return. Something…ancient is there. Evil. I want to know who dares invade my territory, and if they mean to lose Typhon."

"You want us to find out who it is," Percy said.

"Aye," Hephaestus said. "Go there. They may not sense you coming. You are not gods."

"Glad you noticed," Percy muttered.

"Go and find out what you can," Hephaestus said. "Report back to me, and I will tell you what you need to know about Daedalus."

"All right," Annabeth said. "How do we get there?"

Hephaestus clapped his hands. The spider came down from the rafters. Annabeth flinched when it landed at her feet.

"My creation will show you the way," Hephaestus said. "It is not far through the Labyrinth. And try to stay alive, will you? Humans are much more fragile than automatons."

We were doing okay until we hit the tree roots. The spider raced along and we were keeping up, but then we spotted a tunnel off to the side that was dug from raw earth, and wrapped in thick roots. Grover stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" I asked.

He didn't move. He stared openmouthed into the dark tunnel. His curly hair rustled in the breeze.

"Come on!" Annabeth said. "We have to keep moving."

"This is the way," Grover muttered in awe. "This is it."

"What way?" I asked. "You mean… to Pan?"

Grover looked at Tyson. "Don't you smell it?"

"Dirt," Tyson said. "And plants."

"Yes! This is the way. I'm sure of it!"

Up ahead, the spider was getting farther down the stone corridor. A few more seconds and we'd lose it.

"We'll come back," Annabeth promised. "On our way back to Hephaestus."

"The tunnel will be gone by then," Grover said. "I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!"

"But we can't," Annabeth said. "The forges!"

Grover looked at her sadly. "I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?"

She looked desperate, like she didn't understand at all. The spider was almost out of sight.

"We'll split up," Percy said.

"No!" Annabeth said. "That's way too dangerous. How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone."

Tyson put his hand on Grover's shoulder. "I—I will go with him."

"Tyson, are you sure?" Percy asked.

He nodded. "Goat boy needs help. We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends."

Grover took a deep breath. "Percy, we'll find each other again. We've still got the empathy link. I just… have to."

"It's alright, Grover we understand, but are you sure about this?" I asked.

"I know I am." I'd never heard him so sure about anything, except maybe cheese enchiladas are better than chicken enchiladas.

"Be careful," Percy told him. Then looked at Tyson. The big guy gulped back a sob and he hugged Percy tightly. Then he and Grover disappeared through the tunnel of tree roots and were lost in the darkness.

"This is bad," Annabeth said. "Splitting up is a really, really bad idea."

"We'll see them again," Percy said. "Now come on. The spider is getting away!"

It wasn't long before the tunnel started to get hot.

The stone walls glowed. The air felt as if we were walking through an oven. I hate heat. The tunnel sloped down and I could hear a loud roar, like a river of metal. The spider skittered along, with Annabeth right behind.

The roating got louder. After another half mile or so, we emerged in a cavern the size of a Super Bowl stadium. Our spider escort stopped and curled in a ball. We had arrived at the forge of Hephaestus.

There was no floor, just bubbling lava hundreds of feet below. We stood on a rock ridge that circled the cavern. A network of metal bridges spanned across it. At the center was a huge platform with all sorts of machines, cauldrons, forges, and the largest anvil I'd ever seen—a block of iron the size of a house. Creatures moved around the platform—several strange, dark shapes, but they were too far away to make out details.

"We'll never be able to sneak up on them," Percy said.

Annabeth picked up the metal spider and slipped it into her pocket. "I can. Wait here."

"Wait! Annabeth!" Before either of us could argue, she put on her Yankees cap and turned invisible.

I didn't dare call after her, but I didn't like the idea of her going out there alone, invisibility cap or not.

"We can't just wait here," I grumbled. "Come on."

Percy didn't object. We crept along the outer rim of the lava lake, hoping I could get a better angle to see what was happening in the middle.

The heat was awful. My eyes stung from the smoke. We moved along, trying to keep away from the edge, until we found our way blocked by a cart on metal wheels, like the kind they use in mine shafts. I lifted up the tarp and we found it was half full of scrap metal. I was about to start squeezing my way around it when I heard voices from up ahead, probably from a side tunnel.

"Bring it in?" One asked.

"Yeah," another said. "Movie's just about done."

I panicked. I didn't have time to back up. There was nowhere to hide except…the cart. We scrambled inside and pulled the tarp over us. I squirmed trying to sit in a sort of comfortable position, who knows how long I'd be lying on the scrap metal. Percy and I were scrunched together. I could feel his warm breath on my face, and I could smell the salty ocean breeze on him.

We got pulled along. We turned another corner, and from the sound of wheels echoing against the walls I guessed we had passed down a tunnel and into a smaller room.

Hopefully we weren't about to be tipped into lava. If they started to tip us over we would have to scramble to the top. I heard lots of voices that didn't sound human—somewhere between a seal's bark and a dog's growl. There were other sounds too—like an old-fashioned film projector and a tinny voice narrating.

"Just set it in the back," a new voice ordered from across the room. "Now, younglings, please attend to the fil. There will be time for questions afterward."

The voices quieted down, and I could hear the film.

_As a young sea demon matures, _the narrator said, _changes happen in the monster's body. You may notice your fangs getting longer and you may have a sudden desire to devour human beings. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young monsters._

Excited snarling filled the room. The teacher told the younglings to be quiet, and the film continued. I didn't understand most of it, and I didn't dare look. The film kept talking about growth spurts and acne problems caused by working in the forges, and proper flipper hygiene, and finally it was over.

"Now, younglings," the instructor said, "what is the proper name of our kind?"

"Sea demons!" One of them barked.

"No. Anyone else?"

"Telekhines!" Another one said. So that's what they were, Telekhines.

"Very good," the instructor said. "And why are we here?"

"Revenge!" Several shouted.

"Yes, yes, but why?"

"Zeus is evil!" One monster said. "He cast us into Tartarus just because we used magic!"

"Indeed," the instructor said. "After we made so many of the gads' finest weapons. The trident of Poseidon, for one. And of course—we made the greatest weapon of the Titans! Nevertheless, Zeus cast us away and relied on those fumbling Cyclopes. That is why we are taking over the forges of the usurper Hephaestus. And soon we will control the undersea furnaces, our ancestral home!"

I clutched my necklace. These creatures had created Poseidon's trident?

"And so, younglings," the instructor continued, "who do we serve?"

"Kronos!" They shouted.

"And when you grow to be big Telekhines, will you make weapons for his army?"

"Yes!"

"Excellent. Now, we've brought some scraps for you to practice with. Let's see how ingenious you are."

There was a rush of movement and excited voices coming toward the cart. Percy signed counting up to three. I grasped my necklace tighter. On three, we jumped up our bronze swords springing to life in our hands.

Their faces were dogs, with black snouts, brown eyes and pointy ears. Their bodies were sleek and black like sea mammals, with stubby legs that were half flipper, half foot, and humanlike hands with sharp claws. If you blended together a kid, a Doberman pinscher, and a sea lion, you'd get something like them.

"Demigods!" One snarled.

"Eat it!" Yelled another.

That's as far as they got before I slashed a wide arc with my sword and vaporized the entire front line.

"Back off!" Percy yelled at the rest, trying to sound fierce. Behind them stood their instructor—a six foot-tall telekhine with Doberman fangs snarling at us. I did my best to stare them down.

"New lesson, class," Percy announced. "Most monsters will vaporize when sliced with a celestial bronze sword. This change is perfectly normal, and will happen to you _right now _if you don't BACK OFF!"

To my surprise, it worked. The monsters backed up, but there were at least twenty of them. Our fear factor wasn't going to last long.

We jumped out of the cart, yelled, "CLASS DISMISSED!" And ran for the exit.

The monsters charged after me, barking and growling. I hoped they couldn't run very fast on those flipper-legs, but they waddled along pretty well. Thank the gods there was a door on the tunnel leading out to the main cavern. We slammed it shut, putting all our weight against it as the Telekhines pushed against it. We got it closed and turned the wheel to lack it, but I doubted it would keep them long.

I didn't know what to do. Annabeth was out here somewhere, _invisible. _Our chance for a subtle reconnaissance mission had just been blown. I ran toward the platform at the center of the lava lake.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled.

"Shhh!" An invisible hand clamped over his mouth and wrestled him behind a bronze cauldron, Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me with him. "You want to get us killed?"

She took off her Yankees cap. She shimmered into existence in front of me, scowling, her face streaked with ash and grime. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to hide!"

"We're going to have company!" He explained quickly about the monster orientation class. Her eyes widened.

"So that's what they are," she said. "Telekhines. I should've known. And they're making…Well, look."

We peeked over the cauldron. In the center of the platform stood four sea demons, but these were fully grown, at least eight feet tall. Their black skin glistened in the firelight as they worked, sparks flying as they took turns hammering on a long piece of glowing hot metal.

"The blade is almost complete," one said. "It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals."

"Aye," a second said. "It shall be even sharper than before."

"What _is _that?" Percy whispered.

Annabeth shook her head. "They keep talking about fusing metals. I wonder—"

"They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon," I said.

"And they… they said they made my father's trident," Percy said.

"The telekhines betrayed the gods," Annabeth said. "They were practicing dark magic. I don't know what, exactly, but Zeus banished them to Tartarus."

"With Kronos."

She nodded. "We have to get out—"

No sooner had she said that than the door to the classroom exploded and young telekhines came pouring out. They stumbled over each other, trying to figure out which way to charge.

"Put your cap on," I said. "Get out!"

"What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you guys."

"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on. You too, Percy."

"No," he said firmly. "Annabeth goes. I stay with you, plus only one can be invisible."

"But you'll be killed!" Annabeth said.

"We'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice," I said.

I glared at Percy as Annabeth left. "I had a plan," I said indignantly.

"We both know it was just to distract them and let us get out. Which is a stupid plan," he said. He was right, of course, he knew me too well.

"So what's your brilliant plan if mine is so stupid?"

We probably would've sat there bickering until the telekhines caught us. But he kissed me. It was small, short and I kind of just sat there, but it was my first kiss. I seemed to forget about all my problems the moment his lips met mine. He grabbed my hand as he pulled away.

"There!" One yelled. The entire class of telekhines charged across the bridge towards us. We ran for the middle platform, still grasping each other's hands. The elder telekhines dropped the unfinished blade. It was six feet long and curved like a crescent moon. A scythe.

The elder demons got over their surprise quickly. There were four ramps leading off the platform, and before we could dash in any direction, each of them had covered an exit.

The tallest one snarled. "What do we have here? A son of Poseidon?"

"Yes," another growled. "I can smell the sea in his blood. A daughter of Khione. I can see the ice in her eyes."

I raised my sword. My heart was pounding.

"Strike down one of us, demigods," the third demon said, "and the rest of us tear you to shreds. Your father betrayed us. He took our gift and said nothing as we were cast into the pit. We will see _him _sliced to pieces. He and all the other Olympians."

I wished I had a plan. I just wanted to get Annabeth and Percy out of here safely, now Percy had ruined my plan, only Annabeth was getting out of here safely. I realized I would never see Carter, or Sadie, Felix, or any of the other initiates again. This was my deathbed, and I didn't even get to say goodbye.

"Let us see how strong they are. Let us see how long it takes them to burn!"

He scooped up some lava out of the nearest furnace. It set his fingers ablaze, but he didn't seem to mind. The other telekhines did the same. The first one threw a handful of molten rock at me. Percy intercepted it. It set his pants on fire. One came and hit me, another hit Percy. We dropped our swords in terror. Fire was engulfing me. Oddly, it only felt warm on my body, but it was getting warmer by the second.

"Your parent's nature protects you," one said. "Makes you hard to burn. But not impossible, younglings. Not impossible."

They threw more lava at us, and I remember my screams, and Percy's screams as he tried to reach for my hand. The pain was worse than anything I'd ever felt. My skin swelled and burned and my flesh seemed to melt away.

I needed the cold. My body writhed in the pain. The power built up in my gut. My body still burned. I let my power go in one horrendous scream

I could never describe what happened. An, explosion, a tidal wave, a whirlwind of power simultaneously catching me up and blasting downward into the lava. Fire, water, and ice collided, superheated steam, we shot upward from the heart of the volcano in a huge explosion, just two pieces of flotsam thrown free by a million pounds of pressure. The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was flying, flying so high Zeus would never forgive me, Percy holding my hand, and then beginning to fall, smoke and fire and water and icy air streaming from me as I plummeted from the sky.

**I have over 30 reviews. That's never happened before and I'm so excited! **

**4,187 words. This is a really fricking long chapter, it took me forever. Please Review! What do you think will happen to Katya? I want to know your thoughts! (Not really, that would be supes scary.) I'll try to update on Friday.**


	11. Chapter XI

_**Chapter XI**_

**Katya**

I woke up feeling like I was still on fire. My skin stung. My throat felt as dry as sand.

I saw blue sky and trees above me. I heard a fountain gurgling, and smelled juniper and cedar, and other sweet scented herbs. I heard waves, too, gently lapping on a rocky shore. I wondered if I was dead, but I knew better. I'd been to the Land of the Dead, both of them, and there was no blue sky.

I felt a hand in mine, Percy's. It made me smile. But then there was a tugging in my gut. I wasn't supposed to be here. I couldn't be here. Any moment I would implode. I reached into the Duat to travel, somewhere, anywhere. My body faded into the Duat and I let go of Percy's hand.

**Two weeks later: Percy**

Hours after I left Calypso's island, my raft washed up at Camp Half-Blood. How I got there, I have no idea. At some point the lake water just changed to salt water. The familiar shoreline of Long Island appeared up ahead, and a couple of friendly great white sharks surfaced and steered me toward the beach.

When I landed, the camp seemed deserted. It was late afternoon, but the archery range was empty. The climbing will poured lava and rumbled by itself. Pavilion: nothing. Cabins: all vacant. Then I noticed smoke rising from the amphitheater. Too early for a campfire, and I didn't figure they were roasting marshmallows. I ran toward it

Before I even got there I heard Chiron making an announcement. When I realized what he was saying, I stopped in my tracks.

"—assume they are dead, "Chiron said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked their closest living friend to do the final honors."

I came up on the back of the amphitheater. Nobody noticed me. They were all looking forward, watching as Annabeth took two silk burial cloths, one embroidered with a trident, and another with a snowflake, and set them on fire. They were burning Katya and I's shrouds.

Annabeth turned to face the audience. She looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy from crying, probably more for Katya, she and I had a frenemy thing going, we 'hated' each other but in the end we would probably die for each other. She managed to say, "He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. He and Katya..." Then she saw me. Her face went blood red. "He's right there!"

Heads turned. People gasped.

"Percy!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around me and clapped me on the back. I heard a few curses from the Ares cabin, but Clarisse just rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to survive. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.

"Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Annabeth interrupted, shoving aside the other campers. I thought she was going to punch me, but instead she hugged me so fiercely she almost cracked my ribs. The other campers fell silent. Annabeth seemed to realize she was making a scene and pushed away. "I-we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!"  
>"I'm sorry," I said. "I got lost."<p>

"LOST?" She yelled. "Two weeks, Percy? Where in the world—"

"Where's Katya?" I asked.

Annabeth's face lost all its anger. "Oh, Percy…"

Then it hit me like a wrecking ball. She wasn't with me, they were burning her shroud. My Snowflake was gone.

"Prophecy," I managed. "One shall fall, lost within her own powers. No one could find her—"My breath caught in my throat. I didn't know what to do. I was numb with pain. My knees felt like buckling but they somehow stayed solid. All that time on Calypso's island…I had thought of Katya, I worried for her, but only a little. Like worrying for a test you haven't studied for. This was so much more important than a test, this was Katya. An overwhelming guilt swept and I couldn't see the end of the gray, washed out world I was stuck in.

Annabeth nodded. Fresh tears in her eyes.

"Let us go to the Big House. Perhaps some hot chocolate would do you good," Chiron said. I followed numbly behind him.

**Two weeks earlier: Katya**

When I got over the dizziness over exhaustion, I looked up at a red sky. I managed to tilt my head to either side, but even that was a struggle. To my right, was a sea, like the one in my dream. It was alluring and chaotic. I both wanted to go and be consumed by it, and get as far away as possible. To my left, was an ever-changing landscape. The mountains in the distance moved every minute, and demons trudged through the fields. Some of the demons fought battles, and some of the flying demons came down and carried of the small unsuspecting ones. While some of the demons built structures, others knocked them down.

I realized with a start where I was, the Land of Demons. Fear waved through me. Adrenaline surged through my veins and I managed to pick myself up with my elbows and crawl into a bush. My clothes were almost ruined, they had holes and places were burnt black. I was lucky that the holes didn't reveal anything.

I looked down at my burns, they were okay. Considering lava was thrown at me. No burns went past my stomach. I pulled a stout glass jar out of my knapsack, along with a roll of bandages. I had nicked them from the Triple G Ranch first aid kit before we left. I pulled down my jeans and assessed my damaged legs. They got the least of the damage. Second degree burns, I would say. The skin was red and blistered, and a large portion on my right thigh had burst leaving it stinging more than the other on my left calf. I applied the ointment to the burn and wrapped the bandage around it tightly. I worked quickly, holding back my screams and whimpers. Then the bush moved.

I crawled to another one. I repeated the treatment with my calf. Then lifted my charred shirt. This was what I was afraid of, it didn't hurt, but it was burned. The skin across my stomach was waxy white tinted yellow with blotches of black shin that looked like bread so burnt it was just ash. Third-degree burn. I lifted my stomach in the air with my shoulders. All demigods are required to take an emergency first aid class taught by Will Solace, in case you were wondering how I knew all this, and Brooklyn House has seen its fair share of injuries. I have to treat them when Jaz is out. (We're twenty-three kids living with the supervision of a cat goddess, what do you expect?)I put the ointment on the burn quickly then lay back down. I looked in my knapsack for ambrosia and nectar. I only had a bit left. I took a nibble of ambrosia, not nearly enough, though. Then took a swig of nectar. I felt a little bit energized, enough to speak a divine word.

"_N-dah,_" I exhaled. My wand blazed with a pale blue light. Usually it was a bit more vibrant, but I was so exhausted it turned pale. _"Heh-sieh,_" I managed another one. The hieroglyph was added to the protective circle around me. _N-dah _is the hieroglyph for protect, and _Heh-sieh _makes enemies turn back. In the Land of Demons I couldn't be safe anywhere, but the spells I cast would protect me while I slept and healed. Hopefully I could get enough energy to transport myself, I probably couldn't get out of the Duat, but I could probably get to a safer level if I regained enough energy. I remembered Percy kissing me and realized that would be my first and last kiss. My lips tingled at the thought of his lips on mine. Was it odd that I wanted to kiss him again? I hadn't thought of it before, I had other things to worry about, maybe I liked Percy. With that thought my eyelids closed.

I woke up. The bush hadn't moved, thankfully. I had spent a long time asleep, based on the soreness of my joints. I wasn't ready to travel yet. Then I saw the demons. Half a dozen of them had gathered around my protection circle.

"A magician," one ax-headed demon hissed.

My eyes widened, at least the protection spells had lasted.

"Let's get her," a flying beast that reminded me of a harpy spoke in her raspy voice.

They started forward. I unsheathed my sword. But when the demons hit the circle, instead of turning back around like I'd hoped, they kept pounding on it. Instead of using my energy to inforce a spell that wouldn't last I stood up with difficulty and drew my sword.

They broke through the protection spells I put up and attacked me. I let them come, not wanting to waste my energy. Most just rammed straight into my blade, and some I had to swing at, but it was easier than I expected.

Soon there were none left. I let my sword turn back into my necklace and let out a breath.

I changed my bandages and sat behind a bush watching and waiting for any demons to come after me.

I don't know how many days went by, the sun wasn't in the sky and it stayed the same demon red forever.

After a while, my eyelids started to get heavy, then my head started buzzing, I hadn't moved from my spot behind the bush yet. Hours later I started to have blackouts that lasted only a second or two. I forced myself to stay awake because I knew the moment I fell asleep demons would not wait to attack.

Then about a day later I started to see hallucinations, like Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson all searching for me, calling my name like a lost dog. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer or I'd fall asleep and be so exhausted I wouldn't even wake up to being chopped to pieces by an ax-headed demon. _Then again_, I thought, _it wouldn't be the worst way to go. I wouldn't feel anything._

_ No. _I told myself firmly. I would be able to get out of this. _How? _This voice of reason asked. And all I could think was, _that's a good question._

Hours and hours went by and I had more and more seconds of blackouts, the hallucinations came more and more frequently I knew soon I would have to make a move.

I made a plan. I would gather the remaining strength I had, even if it wasn't much and travel through the Duat to Osiris' place.

**Please review, tell me what you think, I would love to know.**


	12. Chapter XII

_**Chapter XII**_

**Percy**

I didn't drink my hot chocolate when Chiron gave it to me. I just stared out the window. When Chiron and Annabeth convinced me to talk I didn't tell them about Calypso. I explained how Katya and I had caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. I told them I'd been marooned on an island. Then Hephaestus had found me and told me I could leave. A magic raft had carried me back to camp.

All that was true, but as I said it my palms were sweaty and they shook.

"You've been gone for two weeks." Annabeth's voice was steadier now, but she still looked pretty shaken up. "When I heard the explosion, I thought—"

"You thought about me. You knew about Katya," I snapped. She was actually dead. "I'm sorry. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do, I understand now."

I told them my idea, no matter how much it hurt to talk about a quest without Katya. All the quests we'd ever been on were with Katya, it seemed so empty without her here.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Percy, that's crazy!"

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

"But this is _my _quest," Annabeth said. "_I _need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And _this _is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," I said. "But it's true."

Annabeth glared at me. Then a sneaky smile came across her face. "So… I have an idea of what island you were on."

"Don't try to change the subject," I said.

"You don't try to change the subject," she snapped. I groaned knowing nothing I could say would make this topic go away. "So, Calypso. Did you know that every male she hosts is destined to fall in love with her?"

"Yes," I grumbled. "She told me."

"Was that before or after you fell for her?" She teased. "What would Katya think?" She asked her voice turning into a soft mourning.

I honestly didn't know. I had kissed her, then I somehow lived while she died when I should have been the one to die. Then I fell in love with another girl days later.

**Katya**

I passed out for four days when I got to the Land of the Dead. According to Uncle Julius.

When I was healed enough to walk and fight I insisted he send me back to camp.

"You could stay here longer, heal more," he told me.

"No, I have to do this, my friends and I have a quest to complete. I'll come and visit when I can."

"Assuming you don't get killed. Please be careful."

"I will."

"Alright," he said, straightening up on his throne. "Goodbye, Katya."

"Goodbye."

He waved her hand and I was transported back to Camp Half-Blood.

I was on top of Half-Blood Hill. Peleus gave a startled noise but otherwise ignored me. I was exhausted, I didn't even need to be the one who opened the portal to be completely spent. My knees gave way and I collapsed.

**Percy**

Before dinner I stopped by the sword arena. Sure enough, Mrs. O'Leary was curled up in an enormous black furry mound in the middle of the stadium, chewing halfheartedly on the head of a warrior dummy.

When she saw me, she barked and came bounding toward me. I thought I was dead meat. I just had time to say, "Whoa!" Before she bowled me over and started licking my face. I laughed halfheartedly. I was still mourning Katya, things would never be the same. I would never know if she truly liked me the way I liked her. I tried to get her out of my head, but her smile, her eyes, her laugh kept coming up in my mind.

"Whoa, girl!" I yelled. "Can't breathe. Lemme up!"

Eventually I managed to get her off me. I scratched her ears and found her an extra-gigantic dog biscuit.

"Where's your master?" I asked her. "How could he just leave you, huh?"

She whimpered like she wanted to know that, too. I was ready to believe Quintus was an enemy, but still I couldn't understand why he'd leave Mrs. O'Leary behind. If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that he really cared for his megadog.

I was thinking about that and toweling the dog spit off my face when a girl's voice said, "You're lucky she didn't bite your head off."

Clarisse was standing at the other end of the arena with her sword and shield. "Came here yesterday," she grumbled. "Dog tried to chew me up."

"She's an intelligent dog," I joked, though I didn't at all feel like it.

"Funny."

She walked toward us. Mrs. O'Leary growled, but I patted her on the head and calmed her down.

"Stupid hellhound," Clarisse said. "Not going to keep me from practicing."

"I heard about Chris," I said. "I'm sorry."

Clarisse paced a circle around the arena. When she came to the nearest dummy, she attacked viciously, chopping its head off with a single blow and driving her sword through its guts. She pulled the sword out and kept walking.

"Yeah, well. Sometimes things go wrong." Her voice was shaking. "Heroes get hurt. They… they die, and the monsters keep coming back."

She picked up a javelin and threw it across the arena. It nailed a dummy straight between the eyeholes of its helmet.

She had called Chris a hero, like she had never gone over to the Titan's side. It reminded me of the way Annabeth sometimes talk about Luke. I decided not to bring that up.

"Chris was brave," I said. "I hope he gets better."

She glared at me as if I were her next target. Mrs. O'Leary growled.

"I'm sorry about Katya," she said. "She wasn't as bad as the rest of you."

I looked down at the ground.

"Do me a favor," Clarisse told me.

"Yeah, sure."

"If you find Daedalus, don't trust him. Don't ask him for help. Just kill him."

"Clarisse—"

"Because anybody who can make something like the Labyrinth, Percy? That person is evil. Plain evil."

For a second she reminded me of Eurytion the cowherd, her much older half-brother. She had the same hard look in her eyes, as if she'd been used for the past two thousand years and was getting tired of it. Then there was yelling coming from Half-Blood Hill.

"She needs a medic!" Someone yelled.

Those words sent me racing to Half-Blood Hill. There was a crowd at the top of the hill and more were running up the side.

"Someone get Percy and Annabeth!" Someone yelled, this motivated me to sprint towards the hill.

Annabeth came and ran next to me. We ran up the hill and pushed through the crowd at the top.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

Will Solace crouched over a body. It didn't look like he was doing anything, though.

"Why did you need us?" Annabeth asked the crowd.

Will turned around and looked at us with happy eyes. "She's okay, just passed out from exhaustion," he told us. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth snapped.

Will smiled and moved away. My breath caught in my throat. Katya lay crumpled on the pine covered grass.

Annabeth let out a sob of happiness and knelt down and cradled her head in her lap and cried in happiness.

I just stared. I probably looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open because Beckendorf asked, "So… are you going to close your mouth?"

The Apollo campers moved her to the infirmary on a cot, I followed behind them still in shock of what was happening.

In the infirmary Will did checked her over. I decided that I would stay the night next to her, in case she woke up. He undid the bandages on her legs. My eyes watered when I saw the burns. Her legs were red and blistered. I had put her through that?

"Just some second degree burns," Will said. "She took care of them well enough and they're almost healed.

He put new bandages on her legs with delicate care. Then he lifted her shirt up just under her breasts and undid the bandages wrapped around her waist. I about retched when I saw the burns on her stomach. They were a yellow-white color, and waxy textured. You could tell they had healed a lot, I couldn't imagine what they looked like when they were fresh.

Will turned to me. "She's going to be asleep for a while, maybe a day or two."

"But we're leaving tomorrow morning!" I said.

"She won't be going on any quests," Will said. "Not under my care. All she needs is s rest, not running through the Labyrinth fighting Kronos' army!"

I fell asleep after he left.

**Katya**

I woke up in the infirmary. I yawned and looked around the room. Percy sat in a chair next to me. His head was at an odd angle and drool dripped from his mouth and onto his shirt but I couldn't help but notice exactly how handsome he was becoming. He was 'hot' according to Sadie who had seen a picture of him, me, and Annabeth together in a canoe in my room that she had barged into. I also couldn't help but remember the kiss we shared in the volcano.

He woke up with an extra-loud snore-grunt, then he noticed me staring at him. I blushed a bit and looked away. "I'm sorry, Snowflake," he said.

"It's okay, Percy. I'm fine," I told him.

"No—your burns," he looked so guilty, like all my suffering could have been stopped by him alone.

"Will heal," I reassured. "But we have a quest to finish."

"No," he said. "Absolutely not. You're still healing, you can't continue the quest!"

"And you're going to stop me?" I asked.

"You're not going to Manhattan with us. You aren't strong enough," he said.

"I'm not strong enough?" I asked slightly hurt, but mostly angry.

"That's not what I—"

"You have no business telling me if I'm not strong enough to do anything! I will go on that quest, whether you like it or not. I'm healed enough to run and fight. How do you think I got here?"

Percy's eyes softened. "I just don't want you getting hurt again. You've been gone for two weeks."

"Two weeks" I gasped. "But that—I was awake for eleven days straight!"

"What were you doing? Where were you?" Percy asked.

"A monster infested place. I couldn't move because of my burns and I couldn't sleep because of the monsters.

"I'm so sorry—"Percy's voice caught. He buried his head in his hands. "It's all my fault."

"No, Percy, it's not your fault. There was nothing you could do," I reassured him taking his hand.

"I could've made you go, something, anything to get you out of there."

I laughed even though it hurt. "You know you couldn't have done that even if you tried."

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess. It's just, Athena told me that my fatal flaw was personal loyalty," he said. "I guess that's showing isn't it?"

I laughed again. "Yeah, it shows all the time. I've known for a while, it's obvious."

"Obvious?" Percy asked faking shock. "And is yours obvious?"

"You could guess," I smirked. "But I doubt you would get it."

"Pride? Ambition? Greed? No, no, definitely not greed. Hypocrisy?" He listed off things one by one and I shook my head for each. "I give up. I told you mine, you have to tell me yours."

I shook my head, but the smile still played on my lips.

"Oh, come on! Please."

"Fine," I sighed. "Secrecy."

Percy laughed out loud. "What? You're one of the most open person I know—"I was giving him a knowing smile. "Oh, you're good."

We laughed, it hurt, but we laughed.

"So, what secrets are you keeping from me, Snowflake?"

"Now how would my fatal flaw be secrecy if I told you just like that?"

"Never mind then…" he looked awkwardly out the window. "I feel like I don't know you as well as I should. Tell me your story."

I told him everything.

Well… not everything. I told him about Carter, Sadie and Amos, and how we lived in this massive five story limestone mansion in Brooklyn. I told him where I lived before that.

A three-story Victorian house white washed with deep blue trim, with the oak floors, the banister I used to slide down. I told him of my childhood room. It had light blue walls with white doves my dad had painted over it, the queen sized bed Dad had got me that made me feel like a princess. Looking back on it I realized just how lucky I was to have everything I did.

I told him about the tree swing in the backyard where I'd play all day.

Percy smiled as I told him of my childhood. "He would make peach cobbler and we'd eat it warm with vanilla ice cream." I yawned remembering the fireplace in the living room.

"You should sleep, when you wake up we'll leave. Goodnight." Percy walked out of the infirmary. I closed my eyes and instantly fell asleep.

We didn't talk much in the van ride to Manhattan. Argus never spoke, probably because he had eyes all over his body, including his tongue.

Annabeth looked queasy, like she was nervous and didn't get a good night's sleep.

"Bad dreams?" I asked.

She shook her head. "An Iris-message from Eurytion."

"Eurytion! Is something wrong with Nico?" Percy asked.

"He left the ranch last night, heading back into the maze."

_"What? _Didn't Eurytion try to stop him?"

"Nico was gone before he woke up. Orthus tracked his scent as far as the cattle guard. Eurytion said he'd been hearing Nico talk to himself the last few nights. Only now he thinks Nico was talking with the ghost again, Minos."

"He's in danger," Percy said.

"No kidding. Minos is one of the judges of the dead, but he's got a vicious streak a mile wide. I don't know what he wants with Nico, but—"

"That's not what I meant," Percy said. "I had this dream last night…" He told us about how Luke was planning an attack, Quintus, and about the demigod they found in the maze.

Annabeth's jaw clenched. "That's very, very bad."

"So what do we do?" Percy asked.  
>She raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's a good thing you have a plan to guide us, huh?"<p>

Percy didn't reply but I cut in. "Oh, yeah. What is this plan I keep hearing about?"

They told me the plan. Annabeth obviously didn't like the idea of asking a mortal for help, because she talked about it as dishonorable.

"I don't see the problem with asking a mortal for help," I said.

"It's dumb! It's cowardly!"

"You're talking as if demigods are better than mortals," I said.

"I don't mean it like that."

"Then stop talking like that," I snapped.

It was Saturday, and traffic was heavy going in the city. We arrived at Mrs. Jackson's apartment around noon. When she answered the door, she gave Percy a big hug.

"I _told _them you were all right," my mom said, but she sounded like the weight of the sky had just been lifted off her shoulders—and believe me, I know firsthand how that feels.

I thought of my family at Brooklyn House, guilt washed over me, and I wanted to go home right then.

"I need to go to see my family," I told them. "I'll just take the subway. We'll meet in Times Square."

Percy pulled away from his mother. "What? Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because my family thinks I'm dead. You did tell them right?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "We called them. It was weird though. A kid answered the phone, he kept calling you his sister. I didn't know you had a brother. And it sounded like there was a baboon in your house."

"Oh. Well, we kind of have a pet baboon. And that was Felix, we took him in and now he's kind of like my brother. I have to go." I started to run.

"Wait!" Percy called I thought it might be something important until he asked: "Why do you have a pet baboon?"

"Because they are highly intelligent creatures, and he's amazing at basketball," I called back. Then I turned and ran.

It took me ten minutes to get to get to Brooklyn House and that was with me running through the crowds. I scaled the wall leading up to the terrace. I hopped over the railing but I tripped on the railing and ended up sailing through the air.

I landed in something squishy and cold.

"Agh!" I heard Khufu grunt. I realized my feet landed in his cherry Jell-O. He had developed an unnatural obsession for the stuff since the Red Pyramid Incident.

"Katya!" Sadie exclaimed.

I opened my eyes and stood up. Immediately I was bombarded with a hug from Sadie. She released me and looked to Carter expectantly. He was still looking gloomily into his mashed potatoes she didn't seem to mind that she was getting Jell-O all over her shirt.

"Zia?" I asked, the boy hadn't been the same since her shabti had dissolved in his arms, but I suppose your first crush dissolving was a bit traumatic.

Sadie nodded. "It's gotten worse," she whispered.

I suddenly stood up. "It's a Z. It's a sign! She's trying to communicate with us!" He yelled.

Sadie shook her head and I sighed.

"Katya?" He asked. Then he ran over and hugged me. He had grown an inch in the month I'd been gone and now he was taller than me, great, I didn't need anybody else to be any taller since I obviously wasn't going anywhere. I didn't even know growing an inch in a month was possible. Well, says the girl who's fourteen and five foot. It was weird that I was a little awkward that I was a year younger than Percy and Annabeth, yet sometimes, especially when they fought, I seemed like the most mature. I had also skipped a grade and was in the ninth grade which did not help my short predicament. "Where have you been? That camp called saying you had— Felix said—"

"I know. I went missing. I was lost in the Duat for a while. I was involved in the eruption of Mount St. Helens."

"You did that?" Sadie asked. "Bloody awesome."

"Yeah, well. I was blown out of the sky, the only way to stay alive was to travel into the Duat. I miscalculated though and ended up in the Land of Demons."

"Not so bloody awesome," Sadie muttered.

"I got out, though. Me and my friends thought a trip into town was in order we came here to do some business, thought I'd let you know I wasn't dead."

"So you're not staying?" Carter asked, the blush hadn't completely come from his cheeks after the Z in the mashed potatoes thing.

"I'm afraid I can't," I'm meeting my friends in Times Square at one. Call an emergency meeting."

And they did. There were a lot of hugs, and I got to see Felix.

When he saw me he ran straight into my arms. "Hey, Brother Bear."

He cried. I released Felix after he stopped and looked around. All the initiates had gathered. I told them about my time in the Land of Demons and then about my recovery in the Land of the Dead.

I found Rachel easy enough, since she was painted gold. I waited on the sidewalk in front of the Marriot Marquis for a long time, eventually Annabeth and Percy showed up too. They said hello and sat down next to me.

I hadn't forgotten about the kiss Percy and I had shared before we blew up Mount St. Helens, or how we'd talked for hours in the infirmary. We had lengthy discussions before, don't get me wrong but this was… different, like we'd finally connected in a way we hadn't before.

All I knew was I kept stealing glances at him while he stared boringly at the views Times Square had to offer. I would look away as soon as I caught myself, but I kept looking back again.

Rachel was standing like a statue with five other kids all painted metallic—copper, bronze, silver. They were frozen in different poses while tourists hustled past or stopped to stare. Some threw money at the tarp on the sidewalk.

The sign at Rachel's feet said, _URBAN ART FOR KIDS, DONATIONS APPRECIATED._

"Maybe if we push her over," Annabeth suggested, I couldn't tell if she was being joking or not, but it was Annabeth you could never tell.

Rachel didn't respond. After another few minutes, a kid in silver walked up from the hotel taxi stand, where he'd been taking a break. He took a pose as if he was lecturing the crowd. Rachel unfroze and stepped off the tarp.

"Hey, Percy." She grinned. "Good timing! Let's get some coffee."

We walked down to a place called the Java Moose on West 43rd. Rachel ordered and Espresso Extreme, the kind of stuff Grover would like. Percy and Annabeth got fruit smoothies and I got vanilla chai tea and a vanilla bean scone. We sat at a table under a stuffed moose.

"So," Rachel said, "it's Annabeth and Katie, right?" She pointed to me when she said Annabeth and Annabeth when she said Katie.

"No," I glared. "I'm Katya, and that's Annabeth."

"Do you always dress in gold?" Annabeth asked.

"Not usually," Rachel said. "We're raising money for our group. We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know? We do this once a month, take in about five hundred dollars on a good weekend. But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that. You guys are half-bloods, too?"

"Shhh!" Annabeth said, looking around. "Just announce it to the world, how about?"

"Okay." Rachel stood up and said really loud. "Hey, everybody! These three aren't human! They're half Greek god!"

Nobody even looked over. Rachel shrugged and sat down. "They don't seem to care."

"That's not funny," Annabeth said. "This isn't a joke, mortal girl."

"Her name is Rachel, Annabeth," I scolded. "It isn't a bad thing she's mortal."

"I'm sorry about the band room," Percy said. "They didn't kick you out or anything?"

"Nah. They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb."

"Was it hard?" Annabeth asked.

"Stop it!" I intervened. "This is serious and we're going to have to get along to do it. We've got a problem and we need your help."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Annabeth. "_You _need my help?"

Annabeth stirred her straw in her smoothie. "Yeah," she said sullenly. "Maybe."

Percy told Rachel about the Labyrinth, and how we needed to find Daedalus. He told her what had happened the last few times we'd gone in.

"So you want me to guide you," she said. "Through a place I've never been."

"You can see through the Mist," Percy said. "Just like Ariadne. I'm betting you can see the right path. The Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily."

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then we'll get lost. Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous."

"I could die?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you said monsters don't care about mortals. That sword of yours—"  
>"Yeah," he said. "Celestial Bronze can't hurt mortals. Most monsters would ignore you. But Luke… he doesn't care. He'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way."<p>

"Nice guy," Rachel said.

"He's under the influence of a Titan," Annabeth said defensively. "He's been deceived."

Rachel looked back and forth between the three of us. "Okay," she said. "I'm in."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. I didn't take Rachel as someone to back down from a challenge but I was still a bit shocked.

"Hey, my summer was going to be boring. This is the best offer I've gotten yet. So what do I look for?"

A boring summer, I hadn't had one of those since before I could remember, before my dad died.

"We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth," Annabeth said. "There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off limits to mortals."

She said _mortals _like it was something awful, but Rachel just nodded. "Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?"  
>"It could be anything," Annabeth said. "A section of wall. A boulder. A doorway. A sewer entrance. But it would have the mark of Daedalus on it. A Greek ∆, glowing in blue."<p>

"Like this/' Rachel drew the Delta symbol in water on our table.

"That's it," Annabeth said. "You know Greek?"

"No," Rachel said. She pulled a big blue plastic hairbrush from her pocket and started brushing the gold out of her hair. "Let me get changed. You'd better come with me to the Marriott."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"Because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus."

**Hi, please review and read forever, my little reader.**


	13. Chapter XIII

_**Chapter XIII**_

**Katya**

The metal door was half hidden behind a laundry bin full of dirty towels. I didn't see anything strange about it, but Rachel showed us where to look, and I recognized the faint blue symbol etched in the metal.

"It hasn't been used in a long time," Annabeth said.

"I tried to open it once," Rachel said, "just out of curiosity. It's rusted shut."

"No." Annabeth stepped forward. "It just needs the touch of a half-blood."

Sure enough, as soon as Annabeth put her hand on the mark, it glowed blue. The metal door unsealed and creaked open, revealing a dark staircase leading down.

"Wow." Rachel looked calm, but I couldn't tell if she was pretending or not. She'd changed into a ratty Museum of Modern Art T-shirt and her regular marker-colored jeans, her blue plastic hairbrush sticking out of her pocket. Her red hair was tied back, but she still had flecks of gold in it, and traces of the gold glitter on her face. I thought about how I must look. I had brushed my hair, what? Like, before I went and blew up Mount St. Helens. Plus, I was still healing, so I was probably looking really pale and washed out. "So… after you?"

"You're the guide," Annabeth said with mock politeness. "Lead on."

The stairs led down to a large brick tunnel. It was so dark I couldn't see two feet in front of us, but we had restocked on flashlights right before we left. As soon as we switched them on, Rachel yelped.

A skeleton was grinning at us. It wasn't human, either. It was huge—at least ten feet tall. It had been strung up, chained by its wrists and ankles so that it made a giant X over the tunnel. The thing that really got to me was the single eye socket in the middle of its skull.

"A Cyclops," Annabeth said. "It's very old. It's not…anybody we know."

Rachel swallowed looking at the warning skeleton. "You have a friend who's a Cyclops?"

"Tyson," Percy said. "My half-brother."

"Don't ask," I told Rachel. Percy glared at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Hopefully we'll find him down here," Percy said. "And Grover. He's a satyr."

"Oh," her voice was small. "Well then, we'd better keep moving."

She stepped under the skeletons left arm and kept walking. I exchanged looks with Percy and Annabeth who shrugged. Annabeth went through, followed by me, and Percy brought up the rear.

After fifty feet we came to a crossroads. Ahead, the brick tunnel continued. To the right, the walls were made of ancient marble slabs. To the left, the tunnel was dirt and tree roots.

Percy pointed to the left. "That looks like the tunnel Tyson and Grover took."

Annabeth frowned. "Yeah, but the architecture to the right—those old stones—that's more likely to lead to an ancient part of the maze, toward Daedalus' workshop."

"We need to go straight," Rachel said.

We looked at her.

"That's the least likely choice," Annabeth said.

"You don't see it?" Rachel asked. "Look at the floor."

I saw nothing except worn bricks and mud.

"There's a brightness there," Rachel insisted. "Very faint. But forward is the correct way. To the left, farther down the tunnel, those tree roots are moving like feelers. I don't like that. To the right, there's a trap about twenty feet down. Holes in the walls, maybe for spikes. I don't think we should risk it."

I didn't see anything like she was describing, but Percy nodded. "Okay. Forward."

"You believe her?" Annabeth asked.

"Well," I said, "if you look at it one way, if she leads us to our deaths, she'll be leading herself to her death too. I don't think she's suicidal."

Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue, but she waved Rachel to lead on. Together we kept walking down the brick corridor. It twisted and turned, but there were no more side tunnels. We seemed to be angling down, heading deeper underground.

"No traps?" Percy asked anxiously.

"Nothing?" Rachel knit her eyebrows. "Should it be this easy?"

"I don't know," Percy said. "It never was before."

"So, Rachel," Annabeth said, "where are you from, exactly?"

She said it like, _Did you come from the sewers? _But Rachel didn't look offended.

"Brooklyn," she said.

"Really?" Percy asked. "Katya is, too."

"Won't your parents be worried if you're out too late?" Annabeth asked.

Rachel exhaled. "Not likely. I could be gone a week and they'd never notice."

"Why not?" This time Annabeth didn't sound as sarcastic. Having trouble with parents was something she understood. She had spent many nights with me having sleepovers in my cabin complaining about her parents.

Percy just didn't want to let go off us living in the same borough of New York City. "Have you guys met?" He asked. "You could be neighbors and never know it."

"I don't think so," Rachel said. "I live in an apartment building penthouse and I've never seen Katya before."

"Yeah, I live in a five story mansion on the edge of the East River," I said.

Rachel looked at me. "You live in that place with all those kids making things explode?"

"Yep, that's Brooklyn House."

"Cool!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Explosions?" Annabeth asked. "I don't even want to know," she shook her head.

"You have an albino crocodile in your pool!" Rachel exclaimed. "And a basketball playing baboon!"

"Ugh," Percy said.

"And penguins!" Rachel threw her hands up wildly. "How'd you get so many penguins?"

"Albino crocodiles, and baboons, and penguins. Oh my!" Annabeth exclaimed.

I started laughing so hard that it sounded like a walrus, at least to me it did. "I love that movie! When I was little I even had a pair of ruby slippers that I wore around all the…" I stopped laughing when I remembered that I wore them Menshikov broke into my house, I ran outside in them, running for my life, and eventually leaving them behind.

Percy seemed to have slipped out of his 'ugh' mode and looked at me worriedly. "Are you alright?" Annabeth asked. "Katya!"

I shook my head in hopes of ridding myself of the memories. Running, being chased, starving, alone. "Let's keep moving. Lead the way Rachel."

We started moving again, they didn't talk to me about my massive mood-swing but I could tell that they hadn't forgotten it. I fell to the back of the line as we trudged on.

Then there was a creaking noise in front of us, like huge doors opening.

"What was that?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Metal hinges."

"Oh, that's very helpful. I mean, _what is it?_"

Then we heard heavy footsteps shaking the corridor, coming towards us.

"Run?" Percy asked.

"Run." I agreed.

We turned and fled the way we'd come, but we didn't make it twenty feet before we ran straight into some old friends. Two _dracaenae _leveled their javelins at our chests. Standing between them was Kelli, the _empousa _cheerleader.

"Well, well," Kelli said.

We drew our weapons, well except Rachel, she didn't have one. But before Riptide was even out of pen form, Kelli pounced on Rachel. Her hand turned into a claw and she spun Rachel around, holding her tight with her talons at Rachel's neck.

"Taking your little mortal pet for a walk?" Kelli asked us. "They're such fragile things. So easy to break!"

Behind us, the footsteps came closer. A huge form appeared out of the gloom—an eight-foot-tall Laistrygonian giant with red eyes and fangs.

The giant licked his lips when he saw us. "Can I eat them?"

"No," Kelli ordered. "Your master will want these. They will provide a great deal of entertainment." She smiled at Percy. "Now march, half-bloods. Or you all die here, starting with the mortal girl."

It was awful. We marched down the tunnel flanked by _dracaenae_, with Kelli and the giant in the back, just in case we tried to run for it. And even I, who had done some _really _stupid things knew that trying to run would be stupid.

Up ahead I could see bronze doors. They were about ten feet tall, emblazoned with a pair of crossed swords. From behind them came a muffled roar, like from a crowd.

"Oh, yessssss," said the snake woman on my left. "You'll be very popular with our hossssst."

I'd never gotten up close to _dracaenae _before, and I really wasn't happy of being given the opportunity. She would've had a beautiful face, except her tongue was forked and her eyes were yellow with black slits for pupils. She wore bronze armor that stopped at her waist. Below that, where her legs should've been, were two massive snake trunks, mottled bronze and green. She moved with a combination of slithering and walking, as if she was on skis.

"Who's your host?" Percy asked.

She hissed, which might've been a laugh. "Oh, you'll sssssee. You'll get along famousssly. He'ssss your brother, after all."

"My what?" Percy asked. Now that I thought about it, when a monster tells you you'll get along with someone, it usually means that you'll end up fighting that someone, one way or another.

The giant pushed past us and opened the doors. He picked up Annabeth by her shirt and said, "You stay here."

"Hey!" She protested, but the guy was twice her size and she didn't have a weapon.

Kelli laughed. She still had her claws at Rachel's neck. "Go on, Percy. Entertain us. You too, Katya. We'll wait here with your friends to make sure you behave."

Percy looked at Rachel. "I'm sorry. We'll get you out of this."

She nodded as best she could with a demon at her throat. "That would be nice."

The _dracaenae _prodded me toward the doorway at javelin-point, and we walked out onto the floor of an arena.

A fight was going on between a giant and a centaur. The centaur looked panicked. He was galloping around his enemy, using sword and shield, while the giant swung a javelin the size of a telephone pole and the crowd cheered.

The first tier of seats was twelve feet above the arena floor. Plain stone benches wrapped all the way around, and every seat was full. There were giants, _dracaenae_, demigods, telekhines, and stranger things: bat-winged demons and creatures that seemed half human and half you couldn't really tell—bird, reptile, insect, mammal.

But the creepiest thing were the skulls. The arena was full of them. They ringed the edge of the railing. Three-foot-high piles of them decorated the steps between benches. They grinned from pikes at the back of the stands and hung on chains from the ceiling like horrible chandeliers. Some of them looked very old—nothing but bleached white bone. Others looked a lot fresher. With washed out yellow flesh still sticking to parts of the cheeks and foreheads. Bile rose in my throat looking at them.

In the middle of all this, proudly displayed on the side of the spectators wall, was something that made no sense to me—a green banner with the trident of Poseidon in the center. It was the one thing that didn't belong.

"Luke," Percy said.

I looked where he was glaring. Sure enough, sitting in a seat of honor, was Luke.

He smiled coldly. He was wearing camouflage pants, a white T-shirt, and a bronze breastplate.

But he still wasn't wearing his sword, which I thought was strange. Next to him sat the biggest giant I'd ever seen, except when Carter was fighting Set and they grew really big, but technically he wasn't a giant. He wore only a loincloth—that was really disturbing—his red skin was tattooed with blue wave designs. I figured he must be Luke's bodyguard or something.

There was a cry from the arena floor, and I jumped back as the centaur crashed into the dirt beside us.

He met my eyes pleadingly. "Help!"

I reached for my sword, but it had been taken.

The centaur struggled to get up as the giant approached, his javelin ready.

Talons gripped Percy and my shoulders. My back stiffened. "If you value your friendsss' lives," the _dracaenae _guard said, "you won't interfere. This isssn't your fight. Wait your turn."

The centaur couldn't get up. One of his legs was broken. The giant put his huge foot on the centaur's chest and raised his javelin. He looked to Luke for permission to bring it down. The crowd cheered, "DEATH! DEATH!"

Luke didn't do anything, but the tattooed sumo dude sitting next to him rose. He smiled down at the centaur, who was whimpering, "Please! No!"

Then the red skinned giant held out his hand and gave a thumbs down.

I closed my eyes as the gladiator giant thrust down his javelin. Percy held my hand. I could feel the blood splatter against my cheek, but I didn't dare wipe it away. _In memory of unknown centaur. _I thought to myself. _Let this blood on my cheek be remembrance to you. _I managed a small smile.

When I looked again, the centaur was just a pile of ashes. All that was left was a single hoof, which the giant took up as a trophy and showed it to the crowd. They roared their approval.

A gate opened at the opposite end of the stadium and the giant marched out in triumph.

In the stands, the red skinned giant raised his hands up for silence.

"Good entertainment!" He bellowed. "But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have Luke, Son of Hermes?"

Luke's jaw tightened, he really didn't like being called _son of Hermes_. He hated his father. But he rose calmly to his feet. His eyes glittered. In fact, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

"Lord Antaeus," Luke said, loud enough for the crowd to hear. "You have been an excellent host! We would be happy to amuse you, to repay the favor of passing through your territory."

"A favor I have not yet granted," Antaeus growled. "I want entertainment!"

Luke bowed, "I believe I have something better than centaurs to fight in your arena now." He pointed at Percy. "Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

The crowd began jeering at us and throwing stones, most of which we dodged, but one scraped against my stomach.

"Agh," I gasped. As long as I didn't touch the burn, it was fine, but when something hit it, it burned like Hades.

Antaeus' eyes lit up. "A son of Poseidon? Then he should fight well! Or die well!"

"That's not all," Luke spoke again. "We have a daughter of Khione. If there death pleases you, will you let our armies cross your territory?"

"Perhaps!" Antaeus said.

Luke didn't look to happy about the 'perhaps.' He glared down at Percy, as if warning him to die in a really spectacular way or we'd be in big trouble.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled. "Stop this. Let us go!"

Luke seemed to notice her for the first time. He looked stunned for a moment. "Annabeth?"

"Enough time for the females to fight afterward," Antaeus interrupted.

"No," Luke interrupted. "If we let Kane wait, she'll escape. We need to get rid of her."

"Entertain me!" Antaeus shouted.

"We let her be chased by the hell hounds through the maze," Luke suggested.

"I won't see her death," Antaeus said.

"But you'll be able to hear her screams when the hell hounds catch up to her."

"Hell hounds!" Antaeus shouted.

Percy turned to me. "You can do this," he said.

I shook my head. "No, Percy. I can't. Besides, we'll be separated, in the maze, we won't be able to find each other again."

"I believe in you. Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I said.

"Then go."

I ran just as the hell hounds came from another tunnel. The crowd cheered as I disappeared down another one.

My legs pumped faster and faster with each step I took. Racing faster and faster. Tears flew from my eyes, not being able to stain my cheeks. I could hear the hounds barking and growling.

I ran for at least an hour, the hell hounds nipping at my ankles. I turned and tried to lose them but they kept on my trail. By now I had a good idea that there were about five of them, but I didn't dare look back and check.

Then I tripped, and I knew everything was over. The hellhounds pounced on me, I thought it was the end and I stopped fighting, ready to let go of the life of the living.

Then the barking stopped. I opened my eyes. The hounds had been turned into ashes were they stood and in their place stood a god.

"You're Anubis," I said stupidly as I stood up.

"That's me." He shoved his hands in his pockets, he was just how Sadie described. Tall, dark, and handsome.

"I'm Katya. Sadie's—"

"Cousin. I know."

"How do you know?" I asked.

He sighed. "I looked into the Kane family when I met Sadie."

"I need to get out of this maze," I told him. "Can you help me?"

"Go up there," he pointed to a little patch of light, a tunnel just big enough for me to crawl through.

"Thanks," I said. "Visit Sadie soon. She's becoming unbearably lovesick. But… don't tell her I said that."

Anubis chuckled. "Will do."

I crawled out of the Labyrinth.

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday I was busy. Forgive me? Hope you like the chapter! Can I get some ideas for the next one?**


	14. Chapter XIV

_**Chapter XIV**_

**Katya**

"Look," I told the cashier at the gas station. "I just need you to tell me where the nearest bus stop is."

"You've got to get to the hospital," the young college age boy said. "Your legs are bleeding and you look like you're going to pass out any moment."

"I'll be fine when I get on the bus. Just tell me where one is."

"No, you need help." I admired the boy's stubbornness when it came to a stranger's wellbeing, you could tell he was a compassionate person. But I didn't have time for compassion right now. I came out of a mine and ended up in this little town and no idea where to get anywhere.

"Can't you just tell me where a bus stop is, I'll be fine when I get to my destination."

"Katya!" I turned around, Percy was waving and smiling like an idiot next to Rachel, who was talking to a limousine driver.

I turned back to the cashier. "Looks like my friends made it after all."

I walked back over to Percy and Rachel. Percy hugged me. "I knew you could do it," he said.

"You can let go of me now. And thanks for believing I could outrun a pack of dogs, however stupid that idea was, it was true."

"Great, we have a ride, we're just waiting on Annabeth," Rachel said just as Nico and Annabeth appeared from the gift shop.

"I talked to Chiron," Annabeth said. "They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get. Did we find a ride? I hope Katya made it out of the maze alright, and she could probably get to camp al—Katya you're here!"

I laughed. "I thought you were the daughter of Athena, of course I'm alive, do you think I'd let a pack of dogs get me?"

"No-but…"

"The driver's ready when we are," Rachel interrupted.

The chauffeur was now talking to another guy in khakis and a polo shirt, probably his client who'd rented the car. The client was complaining, but I could hear the driver saying, "I'm sorry, sir. Emergency. I've ordered another car for you."

"Come on," Rachel said. She led us to the car and got in without even looking at the flustered guy who'd rented it. A minute later we were cruising down the road. The seats were leather. There was plenty of legroom. The backseat had flat-panel TV's built into the headrests and a mini-fridge stocked with water, sodas, and snacks. We started eating all of it.

"Where to, Miss Dare?" The driver asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Robert," she said. "We just need to drive through town and, uh, look around."

"Whatever you say, miss."

Percy looked to Rachel. "Do you know this guy?"

"No."

"But he dropped everything to help you. Why?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled," she said. "Help me look."

"Look for what?" I asked.

"An entrance to the maze."

"Oh!" I exclaimed, feeling very, _very _stupid, like, Percy stupid. "I know where the entrance is."

"How?" Percy asked.

"How do you think I got here," I glared at him. "It's at the entrance to the Western Museum of Mining & Industry."

"There." Rachel pointed to a hole in the side of a nearby hill—a tunnel that was boarded up and chained. "An old mine entrance."

"A door to the Labyrinth?" Annabeth asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Well, look at it!" Rachel said. "I mean… _I _can see it, okay?"

She thanked to the driver and we all got out. He didn't ask for money or any payment. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—"

"No!" Rachel said. "No, really. Thanks, Robert. But we're fine."

The museum seemed to be closed, so nobody bothered us as we climbed the hill to the mine shaft. When we got to the entrance, I saw the mark of Daedalus engraved on the padlock, the place I had just come out of. I touched the padlock and the chains fell away. We kicked down some boards and walked inside. For better, or worse we were back in the Labyrinth.

The dirt tunnels turned to stone. They wound around and split off and basically tried to confuse us, but Rachel had no trouble guiding us. We told her we needed to get back to New York, and she hardly even paused when the tunnels offered a choice.

To my surprise, Rachel and Annabeth started up a conversation as we walked. Annabeth asked her more about her background, but Rachel was evasive, so they started talking about architecture. It turned out Rachel knew quite a bit about it from studying art.

I hung behind Percy and Nico, I kept looking behind me, expecting to see hellhounds chasing me.

I couldn't escape the feeling of the chase. The erratic fear, your heart beating faster than it had before, the faster you ran, the more panicked you felt, but the fear of slowing down made you move faster.

I knew that feeling all too well. Not just because of the hellhounds, after I ran from Menshikov that night, I was running for a while. Every day travelling from city to city, escaping monsters, running from Menshikov. He found me once.

When I was ten, Menshikov found me, he took me down, tortured me for days. Then I was saved by a boy named Jason Grace. I remembered that well, he nursed me back to health, and we hung out for the rest of the week. He left and I went back on the road, but I think of him a lot.

I ran into Percy, who'd stopped after running into Rachel. We'd come to a crossroads. The tunnel continued straight ahead, but a side tunnel T'd off to the right—a circular shaft carved from volcanic rock.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

Rachel stared down the dark tunnel. In the dim flashlight beam, her face looked like on of Nico's specters.

"Is that the way?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Rachel said nervously. "Not at all."

"Why are we stopping then?" I asked.

"Listen," Nico said.

I heard wind coming down the tunnel, as if the exit were close. And I smelled something vaguely familiar—something that brought back bad memories.

"Eucalyptus trees," Percy said. "Like in California."

Last winter, when we'd faced Luke and the Titan Atlas on the top of Mount Tamalpais, the air had smelled just like that.

"There's something evil down that tunnel," Rachel said. "Something very powerful."

"And the smell of death," Nico added.

We exchanged glances.

"Luke's entrance," I guessed. "The one to Mount Othrys—the Titan's palace."

"I have to check it out," Percy said surely.

"Percy, no," Annabeth argued.

"Luke could be right there," Percy said. "Or…or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on."

Annabeth hesitated. "Then we'll all go."

"No," Percy said. "It's too dangerous. If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them. You and Katya stay here and guard them."

I could tell he was also worried for Annabeth, I was too, he didn't trust what she would do if she saw Luke again. He and I both know how many times he'd manipulated her before.

"Percy, don't," Rachel said. "Don't go up there alone."

"I'll be quick," he promised. "I won't do anything stupid."

"By going alone you'll be doing something stupid," I interjected. "I'm going with you."

"No," he said. You need to help Annabeth."

"Percy, we need to talk." I dragged him out of ear shot. "You know Annabeth doesn't need me, and you also know it is safer together, so what is your problem with me going?"

"I just…" he looked for words. "I can't let you get hurt again."

"Like in Mount St. Helens, Percy, you couldn't have stopped me either way," I whispered softly. "It wasn't your fault."

"And in the arena, and all those other times I failed you," he told me. "This is my way of making up for that."

"Percy, you don't need to make up for that, and you don't need to worry about protecting me all the time."

"Katya," he sighed frustrated, "why are you so stubborn?"

"Percy," I mimicked, "why are you so stupid?"

"Hey!"

I walked back to Annabeth and Rachel, who both had this face that said, 'you-two-are-totally-made-for-each-other', which was weird because there were no couples in our little group.

Annabeth pulled her Yankees cap out of her pocket. "At least take this. And be careful."

"Thanks," Percy took it. I remembered the last time Annabeth had left Percy and me to face the telekhines, Percy had given me a kiss, and then we blew up a volcano. This time, all I got was a nod of the head.

Percy put on the hat. "Here goes nothing." And we sneak, obe of us invisibly, down the dark stone tunnel.

Before I even got to the exit I heard voices: the growling, barking sounds of telekhines.

"At least we salvaged the blade," one said. "The master will still rewards us."

"Yes! Yes!" A second shrieked. "Rewards beyond measure!"

Another voice, this one more human, said: "Um, yeah, well that's great. Now, if you're done with me—"

"No, half-blood!" A telekhine said. "You must help us make the presentation. It is a great honor!"

"Gee, thanks," the half-blood said.

We crept toward the end of the tunnel. I stayed against the wall, and out of sight. I couldn't tell where Percy was. We were standing near the top of Mount Tamalpais. The Pacific Ocean spread out below, gray under a cloudy sky. About twenty feet downhill, two telekhines were placing something on a large rock—something long and thin and wrapped in black cloth. The half-blood with an eye patch was helping them open it.

"Careful, fool," the telekhine scolded. "One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body."

The half-blood swallowed nervously. "Maybe I'll let you unwrap it, then."

I glanced up at the mountain's peak, where a black marble fortress loomed, with walls fifty feet high. There was magic going on here—really powerful Mist if the mortals couldn't see _that_. Above us, the sky swirled into a huge funnel cloud. I couldn't see Atlas, but I could hear him groaning in the distance, just the thought of his curse made my ribs ache anew.

"There!" The telekhine said. At first I thought they had seen me. But instead he lifted the weapon and my blood turned cold.

A scythe, a six foot long blade curved like a crescent moon. The wooden handle wrapped in leather. The blade glinted to different colors, iron and bronze. It was the weapon of Kronos.

"We must sanctify it in blood," the telekhine said. "Then you, half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."

I felt air rush past me, I could tell Percy had run past me, but I couldn't move any farther unless I wanted to be seen.

"We must sanctify it in blood," the telekhine said. "Then you half-blood, shall help present it when the lord awakes."

Then the golden lid to the coffin was pushed back by an invisible force, and that invisible force had to be Percy. It fell to the floor with a huge _WHOOOOM!_

I raced down, jumping over rocks, just trying to reach Percy, not caring if the telekhines saw me. Then I saw what was inside of the coffin. Mortal legs, dressed in gray pants. A white T-shirt, hands folded over his stomach. One piece of his chest was missing, the size of a clean bullet wound, right where his heart should have been. His eyes were closed. His skin pale. Blond hair…and a scar running along the left side of his face.

The body in the coffin was Luke's.

"What has happened?" One of the telekhines screamed from right behind where Percy should have been when he saw the lid.

"Careful!" The other demon warned. "Perhaps he stirs. We must present the gifts now. Immediately!"

I hid behind a column.

The two telekhines shuffled forward and knelt, holding us the scythe in its wrapping cloth. "My lord," one said. "Your symbol of power is remade."

Nothing happened in the coffin.

"You fool," the other telekhine muttered. "He requires the half-blood first."

The half-blood stepped back. "Whoa, what do you mean he requires me?"

"Don't be a coward!" The first telekhine hissed. "He does not require your death. Only your allegiance. Pledge him your service. Renounce the gods. That is all."

"No!" An invisible Percy yelled from the next column over yelled. "Ethan, don't!"

"Trespassers!" The telekhines bared their seal teeth. "The master will deal with you soon enough. Hurry, boy!" I ran up and stood next to Percy.

"Ethan," Percy pleaded, "don't listen to them. Help us destroy it."

Ethan turned to us, his eye patch blending in with the shadows on his face. His expression was something like pity. "I told you not to spare me, Percy. 'An eye for an eye.' You ever heard that saying? I learned what it meant the hard way—when I discovered my godly parent. I'm the child of Nemesis, Goddess of Revenge. And this is what I was made to do."

He turned toward the dais. "I renounce the gods! What have they ever done for me? I will see them destroyed. I will serve Kronos."

The building rumbled. A wisp of blue light rose from the floor at Ethan's feet. It drifted toward the coffin and began to shimmer, like a cloud of pure energy. Then it descended into the sarcophagus.

Luke sat bolt upright. His eyes opened, and they were no longer blue. They were golden, the same color as the coffin. The hole in his chest was gone. He was complete. He leaped out of the coffin with ease, and where his feet touched the floor, the marble froze like craters of ice.

He looked at Ethan and the telekhines with those horrible golden eyes, as if he were a newborn baby, not sure what he was seeing. Then he looked at Percy, and a smile of recognition crept across his mouth.

"This body has been well prepared." This reminded me of when Isis and Horus were hosted by Sadie and Carter, but this was more of a possession. "Don't you think so, Percy Jackson?"

Kronos threw his head back and laughed. The scar on his face rippled.

"Luke feared you," the Titan's voice said. "His jealousy and hatred have been powerful tools. It has kept him obedient. For that I thank you."

Ethan collapsed in terror. He covered his face with his hands. The telekhines trembled, holding the scythe. I kept my stance firm and my glare fierce.

Percy lunged. He thrust Riptide at Kronos' chest, but his skin deflected the blow like he was made of pure steel. He looked at him with amusement. Then he flicked his hand, and he flew across the room.

I screamed his name. He slammed against a pillar. He struggled to his feet, but Kronos had already grasped the handle of his scythe.

"Ah…much better," he said. "Backbiter, Luke called it. An appropriate name. Now that it is re-forged completely, it shall indeed _bite back_."

"What have you done to Luke?" I asked.

Kronos raised his scythe. "He serves me with his whole being, so I require. The difference is, he feared you, Percy Jackson. I do not."

Percy started running, and when he reached me, I ran with him.

I looked back when I realized that Percy was running in what looked like slow motion, but I knew it was the power of Kronos. His presence was so strong it could bend time itself.

"Run, little heroes," he laughed. "Run!"

He was approaching leisurely, swinging his scythe as if he were enjoying the feel of having it in his hands again.

He was ten feet away when I heard, "PERCY! KATYA!"

Rachel's voice.

Something flew past me, and a blue plastic hairbrush hit Kronos in the eye.

"Ow!" He yelled. For a moment it was only Luke's voice, full of surprise and pain. Percy started running at normal speed and I was close behind him. He ran straight into Rachel, Nico, and Annabeth, who were standing in the entry hall, their eyes wide with dismay.

"Luke?" Annabeth called. "What—"

I grabbed her arm and pulled her after me. I ran as fast as I've ever run, straight out of the fortress. We were almost back to the Labyrinth entrance when I heard a loud bellow—the voice of Kronos, coming back into control. "AFTER THEM!"

"No!" Nico yelled. He clapped his hands together, and a jagged spire of rock the size of an eighteen-wheeler erupted from the ground right in front of the fortress. The tremor it caused was so powerful the front columns came crashing down. I heard muffled screams from the telekhines inside. Dust billowed everywhere.

We plunged into the Labyrinth and kept running, the howl of the Titan lord shaking the entire world behind us.

**Hope you like it, please review.**


	15. Chapter XV

_**Chapter XV**_

**Katya **

We ran until we were exhausted. Rachel steered us away from traps, but we had no destination in mind—only _away _from the dark mountain and the roar of Kronos.

We stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like part of a natural cave. I couldn't hear anything behind us, that was a good sign, but I still felt unsafe in the maze. I could still see the unnatural golden eyes staring out of Luke's eyes.

"I can't go any farther," Rachel gasped, hugging her chest.

Annabeth had been crying the entire time we'd been running. Now she collapsed and put her head between her knees. Her sobs echoed in the tunnel. I went and sat next to her, and hugged her from the side. I whispered comfort in her ears, but it didn't feel like I could make a difference.

Annabeth lifted her head. Her eyes were red from crying. "What… what was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?"

Percy told her what we'd seen in the coffin, the way the last piece of Kronos' spirit had entered Luke's body when Ethan Nakamura pledged his service.

"No," Annabeth said. "That can't be true. He couldn't—"

"No!" She insisted. "You saw when Rachel hit him."

Percy nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. "You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush."

Rachel looked embarrassed. "It was the only thing I had."

"But you _saw_," Annabeth insisted. "When it him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses."

"Annabeth," I started. "That doesn't mean Luke wasn't okay with Kronos being in him—"

"You _want _him to be evil, is that it?" Annabeth yelled. "You didn't know him before. I did!"

"What is it with you?" Percy snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?"

"Whoa, you guys," Rachel said. "Knock it off."

Annabeth turned on her. "Stay out of it, mortal girl! If it wasn't for you…"

Whatever she was going to say, it didn't come out. She put her head down again and sobbed miserably. I hugged her the same way I did before and whispered in her ear. "I know you want him to be the same Luke you love. And maybe, somewhere deep down, he is that same Luke, but Percy and I are going on what he's done, and what he's done is pretty evil. So, until he redeems himself, in my eyes, he'll be classified under the evil category."

"We have to keep moving," Nico said. "He'll send monsters after us."

Nobody was in any shape to run, but Nico was right. I hauled myself up and helped Annabeth to her feet. She sniffled and wiped away her tears. "I hate crying in front of everybody," she mumbled.

"At least it's in front of your best friends who have your back, no matter what," I said.

"I don't like Rachel."

"You should give her a chance. I think you're a bit prejudiced about mortals after what happened with your dad and step-mom," I said. Annabeth nodded but I didn't think her heart was in it.

"Back to New York," Percy said. "Rachel, can you—"

He froze. His eyes fixed on something in front of us. I followed the beam of his flashlight to a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground. It was a Rasta cap: the one Grover always wore.

His hands shook as he picked up the cap. It looked like it had been stepped on by a huge muddy boot. After all that we'd gone through today, I couldn't stand the thought that something might've happened to Grover, too. And I knew Percy must be feeling worse than I was.

"We have to follow them," he pointed to large footprints like Tyson's, and smaller ones—goat hooves—leading off to the left.

"What about Camp Half-Blood?" Nico said. "There's no time."

"We have to find them," I insisted.

"They're our friends," Annabeth said and I smiled at her.

She picked up Grover's smashed cap and forged ahead.

I followed, bracing myself for the worst. Like finding there mangled bodies pinned to the wall by their ripped out ribs. The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time we were slipping and sliding rather than walking.

Finally we got to the bottom of the slope and found ourselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran an underground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled.

"Percy! Come quick!"

We ran over to him. Grover wasn't dead, thank Ra, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.

"What happened?" Percy asked.

"He said, 'We're close.' Then he hit his head on the rocks."

Percy knelt next to him. The only other time I'd seen Grover pass out was in New Mexico when he had felt the presence of Pan.

I shined my flashlight around the cavern. The rocks glittered. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance…

"Grover," Percy said. "Wake up."

"Uhhhhhhhh."

Annabeth knelt next to him and splashed icy cold river water in his face.

"Splurg!" His eyes fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth? Katya? Where…"

"It's okay," Percy said. "You passed out. The presence was too much for you."

"I—I remember. Pan."

"Yeah," I said. "Something powerful is just beyond that doorway."

Percy made quick introductions, since Tyson and Grover had never met Rachel. Tyson told Rachel she was pretty.

"Anyway," Percy said. "Come on, Grover. Lean on me."

We helped him up, and together we waded across the underground river. The current was strong. The water came up to our waists. It was also really cold. Like wading through a snowdrift, but it didn't matter, the cold never bothered me any way. I couldn't swim so I was glad it was shallow.

"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Carlsbad is in New Mexico," she said. "That would explain last winter."

I nodded. Grover's swooning episode had happened when we passed through New Mexico. That's where he'd felt closest to the power of Pan.

We got out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, I started to feel the power emanating in the next room. I'd been in the presence of gods before, even two different kinds of gods, but this was different. My skin tingled with living energy, like when you're in the cold and go inside, and your skin tingles while it warms. My weariness fell away, as if I'd just gotten a good night's sleep, and the constant burning on my stomach faded away. I could feel myself growing stronger, as if I'd gone through torture and come out alive, and stronger than ever. And the scent coming from the cave was nothing like the dank wet underground. It smelled of trees and flowers on a warm summer day.

Grover whimpered with excitement. I was too stunned to talk. We stepped into the cave, and Rachel said, "Oh, wow."

The walls glittered with crystals—red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew—giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among crystals. The cave floor was covered with soft green moss

I was never one to enjoy summer, or flowers, or luscious greenery. I was one that would stare at a barren winter forest, and look at each bare tree, see only white, and say 'that's beautiful.'

Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like a galaxy of stars. In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it—but they were animals that should have been extinct. There was a dodo bird, an animal that looked like a mix between a tiger and a wolf, a giant guinea pig, and behind the bed, was a wooly mammoth picking berries with his trunk.

On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched us as we approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with gray. His horns were enormous—there was no way he could've hidden them underneath a hat like Grover. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.

Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed. "Lord Pan!"

The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes, something that reminded me of myself. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."

"I…got lost," Grover apologized.

Pan laughed, it was a wonderful sound, like wind chimes blowing in the summer.

The tiger-wolf sighed and rested his head on the god's knee. The dodo bird pecked affectionately at the god's hooves, making a strange humming sound that sounded like "It's a Small World."

Still, pan looked tired. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist.

I kneeled with the rest of us.

"You have a humming dodo bird," Percy said stupidly. I rolled my eyes.

The god's eyes twinkled. "Yes, that's Dede. My little actress.

Dede looked offended. She pecked at Pan's knee and hummed something that sounded like a funeral dirge.

"This is the most beautiful place!" Annabeth said. "It's better than any building ever designed."

"I'm glad you like it, dear," Pan said. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid. Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed… for a little longer."

"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

At the sorrowful look on the god's face I realized, he wasn't coming back, he was just barely holding on long enough to speak with us. Tears welled up in my eyes, and Percy gave me an odd look.

Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his curls. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose?" Grover said. "I—I don't understand."

Pan's image flickered and I inhaled sharply. The giant guinea pig scuttled under the bed with a terrified squeal. The wooly mammoth grunted nervously. Dede stuck her head under her wing. Then Pan re-formed.

"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."

"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"

"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. He lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Pan is dead.'"

"But that wasn't true!" Grover said.

"Your kind never believed it," Pan said. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. You only prolonged my long, painful passing, my dark twilight sleep. It must end."

"No!" Grover's voice trembled.

"Dear Grover," Pan said. "You must accept the truth. Your companion, Nico, he understands."

Nico nodded slowly. "He's dying. He should have died long ago. This…this is more like a memory."

"But gods can't die," Grover said.

"They can fade," Pan said, "when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it. My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan _is _dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you must—"

He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird who had started humming again.

"Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing _Kumbaya _again?"

Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes.

Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cinic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."

"But…no!" Grover whimpered.

"Be strong," Pan said. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."

Pan looked straight at Percy. I realized he wasn't talking about just satyrs, but everyone. Demigods, magicians… humans too.

"Percy Jackson," the god said. "I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear."

He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, your time is coming. You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined."

Then he looked at Tyson. "Master Cyclops, do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to our expectations. But you, Tyson—your name shall live among the Cyclopes for generates. And Miss Rachel Dare…"

Rachel flinched when he said her name. She backed up like she was guilty of something, but Pan only smiled. He raised his hand in a blessing.

"I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."

"I—"Rachel faltered. A tear traced down her cheek.

"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."

Pan hadn't addressed me, but why would he? I didn't have a role to play, not a prophecy that predicted me saving Olympus. I was just a handy sidekick to the people that saved the world.

Then Pan turned to me. My eyes widened down at him. "Dear girl, your secret won't last. Things like these…have a habit of unveiling themselves."

"No," I refused. "I won't let it get out. I will keep the secret, even if it kills me."

"Agh, it is so obvious what your fatal flaw is. When you look for it, but you don't have to look hard. An old enemy will be your downfall."

"Who?" I asked urgently. "Who is it?"

"He gave you the scars on your back, you gave him the scars on his eyes."

"Menshikov," I gasped. "No, it can't be him. Not him."

Pan gave me a condoling smile and turned to Grover. I didn't catch what he was saying I was too busy freaking out.

The god of the wild just predicted the man that killed my father, the man that was after me for years was going to end up killing me.

"Katya, we have to go," Percy's voice broke me out of my mournful reverie.

"We should go now," Grover said, "and tell them, the great go Pan is dead."

**I finally updated. Oh my god it took me forever. I am so sorry that I missed three update deadlines. I have been so busy with school, tests and quizzes, and I just want to drop out already! Again, so sorry.**

** Please forgive me!**


	16. Chapter XVI

Chapter XVI

Katya

Distance was shorter in the Labyrinth, but I still felt like we'd run all the way from New Mexico to Times Square. We climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

My whole life was indulged in the mythological, during the summer I was at Camp Half-Blood, for Greek demigods, and during the school year I was at Brooklyn House, a school for young Egyptian magicians. So being in the oblivious mortal world felt unreal.

Percy led the way into an alley, at the moment I wasn't sure why, until he whistled loudly five times, the sound echoed across the brick walls and a minute later a flock of pegasi descended from the sky.

Rachel gasped. "They're beautiful!"

Blackjack was in the lead, followed by five of his white friends.

Yo, boss! Yo, she-boss! He spoke through the enchantment I had put on him allowing him to speak in my mind. It was a simple hieroglyph that made everyone touched by the spell speak in Ancient Egyptian but to them it sounds like their mother language, so when I spoke to Blackjack it must have sounded like I was speaking horse. You lived!

"Yeah," Percy told him. "We're lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride back to camp quick."

That's my specialty! Oh man, you got that Cyclops with you? Yo, Guido! How's your back holding up?

The said pegasus Guido groaned and complained, but eventually he agreed to carry Tyson. Everybody started saddling up-except Rachel.

"Well," she said. "I guess this is it."

We all knew she couldn't come to camp. Percy glanced back at me, I stared him in the eyes.

"Thanks, Rachel," Percy said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"I wouldn't have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan..." Her voice faltered. I zoned out. I didn't want to hear them flirting. I steered my pegasus over to Annabeth. Percy was my friend and I knew he was completely oblivious to what Rachel so obviously felt about him and didn't even know about what he was obviously starting to fell towards her.

"You know we'll probably be too late at camp, the battle might even already have started," Annabeth pointed out, glancing up at me.

"I know, but the camp is depending on us. The Council of Cloven Elders needs to know Pan has... passed, and we have to warn Chiron."

We got everyone on a pegasus and we shot into the air., and soon we were flying over the East River, I saw Brooklyn House standing tall on the banks of the river. My heart ached for the home I was

missing, but my mind was focusing on the one that needed saving.

We landed in the middle of the cabin area and were immediately met by Chiron, the potbellied satyr Silenus, and a couple of Apollo cabin archers. Chiron raised an eyebrow when he saw Nico, but if I expected him to be surprised about our latest news about Quintus being Daedalus, or Kronos rising, I was mistaken.

"I feared as much," Chiron said. "We must hurry. Hopefully you have slowed down the Titan lord, but his vanguard will still be coming through. They will be anxious for blood. Most of our defenders are already in place. Come!"

"Wait a moment," Silenus demanded. "What of the search for Pan? You are almost three weeks overdue, Grover Underwood! Your searcher's license is revoked!"

Grover took a deep breath. He stood straight and looked Silenus straight in the eye. "Searcher's licenses don't matter anymore. The great god Pan is dead. He has passed on and left us his spirit."

"What?" Silenus' face turned bright red. "Sacrilege and lies! Grover Underwood, I will have you exiled for speaking thus!"

"It's true," Percy spoke up. "We were there when he died. All of us."

"Impossible! You are all liars! Nature-destroyers!"

Chiron studied Grover's face. "We will speak of this later."

"We will speak of it now!" Silenus said. "We must deal with this-"

"Silenus," Chiron cut in. "My camp is under attack. The matter of Pan has waited two thousand years. I fear it will have to wait a bit longer. Assuming we are still here this evening."

And on that happy note, he readied his bow and galloped towards the woods, leaving us to follow as best we could.

It was the biggest military operation I'd ever seen at camp. Everyone was in the clearing, dressed in full battle armor, but this time it wasn't capture the flag, and I knew that some of these faces wouldn't be here tomorrow.

The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth-razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Beckendorf was manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus' Fist. Beckendorf reminded me of one of the first initiates that came to Brooklyn House. Walt Stone. They both had the same aura around them, no one argued with them, and when they spoke, everyone listened. The Ares cabin was on the front line, drilling in phalanx formation with Clarisse calling orders. I didn't have time to observe the set up when Chiron spoke to Percy and I.

"Stay with me, Percy," he said. "When the fighting begins, I want you to wait until we know what we're dealing with. And Katya, battle hard we'll need all of your skills to have a chance."

I nodded, not sure if he meant my 'Egyptian magic' or my ice magic, but I knew that I couldn't reveal my Egyptian side unless it was completely necessary, and even then I would do anything to keep it a secret.

I don't remember much after the first wave of Laistrygonian Giants poured out of the maze. Everything was a haze of red blood and battle cries. The only thing that brought me out of my haze of rage was Percy and Annabeth on the ground under Kampê. Another second later I was on the back of the beast, wondering how I got there, slashing with my sword and ignoring the terrible burning the acid was doing. I almost got her head off when a big black wall of darkness knocked into me. Mrs. O'Leary stood above me growling at Kampê. I slid back from under Mrs. O'Leary and ran toward Annabeth and Percy.

"Good girl!" A familiar voice praised. Daedalus was fighting his way out of the Labyrinth, slashing down enemies left and right as he made his way towards us. Next to him was someone else-a familiar giant, much taller than the Laistrygonians, with a hundred rippling arms, each holding a huge chunk of rock.

I turned and focused my attention on Percy and Annabeth. "You guys okay?" I asked.

They stared at me with mouths open, Annabeth finally got words out. "You hopped on the back of one of the most ancient and terrible monsters in mythology, what were you thinking?"

"Gods, I wasn't thinking! I jumped on the back of Kampê. What in Hades was I thinking? Never mind the poison practically oozing off her, never mind the most certain death that would have come out of that!" I ranted, my sword waving animatedly to get my point across.

"It was awesome!" Percy said. "How did you do that?"

"I honestly would love to answer your question, but we have to get moving."

"Sssssslay them! Kill them all or Kronossss will flay you alive!" A dracaenae yelled.

The giants surged forward in a last desperate attempt. One surprised Chiron with a glancing blow to the back legs, and he stumbled and fell. Six giants cried in glee and rushed forward.

"No!" Percy screamed, but we were too far away to help.

Then Grover opened his mouth and the most horrible sound I've ever heard came out. Like a chorus of broken brass instruments being blown as hard as they could. The sound of pure fear.

As one, the forces of Kronos dropped their weapons and ran for their lives. The giants trampled the dracaenae trying to get to the Labyrinth first. Telekhines and hellhounds and enemy half-bloods scrambled after them. The tunnel rumbled shut, and the battle was over. The clearing was quiet except fires burning in the burning in the woods, and the cries of the wounded.

I glanced back at Percy and Annabeth then we started running to Chiron.

"Are you alright?" Percy asked him.

He was lying on his side, trying in vain to get up. "How embarrassing," he muttered. "I think I will be fine. Fortunately, we do not shoot centaurs with broken… Ow! … broken legs."

"You need help," Annabeth said. "I'll get a medic from Apollo's cabin."

"No," Chiron insisted. "There are more serious injuries attend to. Miss Kane you look a little worse for wear."

"What? I'm… fine…" My head realed and I felt dizzy. "We need to-"

I fell back, but Percy caught me.

"You're not fine. Katya, you've completely exhausted yourself, get-" I didn't hear the rest of what Annabeth said, I was already asleep.

When I woke up in the crowded infirmary, Percy was right next to me, I was sort of grateful he was there, but even more embarrassed that I had just fainted into his arms like a total daughter of Aphrodite.

"Good you're awake, I was getting tired of hanging out with Annabeth."

"Ugh," I tried to say 'hi'.

"You've been asleep for two days. Will has been ranting about how you worked yourself into exhaustion and you shouldn't have even fought since you were already injured."

"He couldn't have stopped me," I crossed my arms over my chest.

Percy laughed. "We know, he just thinks 'doctor's orders' means you have to obey like you've sworn on the River Styx."

I returned a small laugh, not having the energy to give more. He told me about Nico di Angelo and Daedalus, I felt bad for Mrs. O'Leary, I knew what it was like to lose someone like that and not know why. I was still haunted by Menshikov's smile, and Pan's words.

"Sounds like camp is gonna be normal for the rest of the summer. What are we going to do?" I asked.


	17. Chapter XVII

_**Chapter XVII**_

**Katya**

The rest of the summer was bliss. Daily activities continued. I hung out with Annabeth, knowing she was still hurting from Luke. She really cared for him, and I had a feeling those feelings were returned, but Luke's hate for the Olympians overpowered whatever he might've felt for Annabeth. Percy and I avoided each other, we had both decided to forget about the kiss because of the quest and the ever-present fear of being killed, but now that that was over, I couldn't get that kiss, and him out of my mind. It hurt when I was with him, and it hurt when I wasn't and I didn't know why. But besides my muddled emotions it was a great summer, I'm glad we got the dangerous quest out of the way first and could have a normal year after that.

At ten o'clock I stood on top of Half-Blood Hill waiting for Bast to show up in one of her 'borrowed' convertibles. Annabeth was babbling animatedly about architecture beside me, and Daedalus' laptop that had engrossed her for the past two months. She had told me the last line of the prophecy, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It must've been hard knowing about that. Hera paid a visit then, too, but I ignored her. I don't think she appreciates being ignore, and I was almost scared she would blast me to bits, but everything turned out fine and she left. Thank the gods.

Annabeth jogged down the hill and Percy walked up to me.

"Listen, Katya I-"

Argus honked his horn.

"It's okay, Percy." I didn't know what was okay, everything was a mess. "I'll see you at Goode." I cursed my voice for sounding so broken.

"I wanted to tell you something, though. You have to hear me out."

Another honk, this time I was grateful to hear it. "Katya!" I heard Bast's voice call.

"Goodbye, Percy." I jogged to Bast's car and jumped in, immediately Bast sped off. I knew she had seen that, and I was glad she didn't say anything about that awkward conversation.

The next week before school started I was busy getting ready for school. And mentally preparing myself to see Percy again, but on the first day of school, it was like nothing ever happened. I was grateful and it bothered me. So that's my life. Worrying about a boy and when the world is going to end and how to save it.


	18. Afterword

**Book 1: **Katya Kane and the Red Pyramid

**Book 2: **Katya Kane and the Battle of the Labyrinth

**Book 3: **Katya Kane and the Throne of Fire

**Book 4: **Katya Kane and the Serpent's Shadow

**Book 5: **Katya Kane and the Last Olympian

**Book 6: **Katya Kane and the Lost Hero

**Book 7: **Katya Kane and the Son of Neptune

**Book 8: **Katya Kane and the Mark of Athena

**Book 9: **Katya Kane and the House of Hades

**Book 10: **Katya Kane and the Blood of Olympus

**Book 11: **Katya Kane: Epilogue

If you have any questions for me regarding the order I'm putting the books in, like how the KC and PJO stuff fit together and the reasoning behind my reasoning, leave a comment and I will reply.

Really any questions you have I will answer as best I can.

I just posted the first chapter of the next book, book three. So, go on, what are you waiting for? Go read it.


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